Computer network with unique identification
First Claim
1. A computer network system, including:
- a plurality of client nodes, each of which has a unique data link layer address;
at least one network device which is able to access the unique data link layer address of at least one client node of the plurality;
a database configured to include the unique data link layer address of each client node of the plurality and associated user information for each client node of the plurality, wherein the user information includes at least one of a logical user group, a physical location of the client node, or a logical location of the client node, wherein the physical location of a device node is indicated by an incoming router NIC number and the logical location of a device node is indicated by a VLAN ID;
a dynamic data structure configured to include a DNS binding between the unique data link layer address, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and an IP address for one or more client nodes of the plurality;
wherein the at least one network device is configured to;
use the accessed data link layer address to uniquely identify the at least one client node;
upon identification of the at least one client node in association with a communication to or from the at least one client node, provide user-specific services at a network layer or above to the at least one client node based on the associated user information corresponding with the unique data link layer address of the at least one client node, wherein providing the user-specific services includes communicating, responsive to the associated user information, human perceivable content that is adapted for the location of the at least one client node or the logical user group;
receive, from a first client node of the plurality of client nodes, a DNS request specifying the FQDN of a second client node of the plurality of client nodes;
execute a twice NAT procedure if an IP address collision exists between the first client node and the second client node of the plurality of client nodes, wherein a first unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the first node and a second unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the second node;
update the DNS binding of the first client node to include the first unique IP address and update the DNS binding of the second client node to include the second unique IP address; and
return the second unique IP address to the first client node in response to the DNS request.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer network is described in which the data link layer address, e.g., MAC address, of the network cards of client nodes are used to uniquely identify the nodes in the provision of network to application layer services. A link layer aware router may determine the MAC address of a client node from a data packet transmitted by the client node, and determines the services to provide to the user, e.g., a proxy redirect of the packet, based on a database of client node MAC addresses to user attributes. By determining MAC addresses, the router can also identify unregistered MAC addresses, and can forward an HTTP request by an unregistered user to a remote configuration web page for registering the user, or to a security warning web page. The router may also support Network Address Translation and Domain Name System services using the MAC addresses, with a fully qualified domain name, hostname, or the like, being assigned to the MAC addresses.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer network system, including:
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a plurality of client nodes, each of which has a unique data link layer address; at least one network device which is able to access the unique data link layer address of at least one client node of the plurality; a database configured to include the unique data link layer address of each client node of the plurality and associated user information for each client node of the plurality, wherein the user information includes at least one of a logical user group, a physical location of the client node, or a logical location of the client node, wherein the physical location of a device node is indicated by an incoming router NIC number and the logical location of a device node is indicated by a VLAN ID; a dynamic data structure configured to include a DNS binding between the unique data link layer address, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and an IP address for one or more client nodes of the plurality; wherein the at least one network device is configured to; use the accessed data link layer address to uniquely identify the at least one client node; upon identification of the at least one client node in association with a communication to or from the at least one client node, provide user-specific services at a network layer or above to the at least one client node based on the associated user information corresponding with the unique data link layer address of the at least one client node, wherein providing the user-specific services includes communicating, responsive to the associated user information, human perceivable content that is adapted for the location of the at least one client node or the logical user group; receive, from a first client node of the plurality of client nodes, a DNS request specifying the FQDN of a second client node of the plurality of client nodes; execute a twice NAT procedure if an IP address collision exists between the first client node and the second client node of the plurality of client nodes, wherein a first unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the first node and a second unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the second node; update the DNS binding of the first client node to include the first unique IP address and update the DNS binding of the second client node to include the second unique IP address; and return the second unique IP address to the first client node in response to the DNS request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of servicing nodes on a computer network which includes a plurality of nodes and a router for routing traffic from and to said nodes, including:
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obtaining data link layer addresses for said nodes of the plurality; constructing or augmenting a database of said data link layer addresses correlated to attribute information of users associated with said nodes of the plurality, wherein the attribute information includes at least one of a logical user group, a physical location of the node, or a logical location of the node, wherein the physical location of the node is indicated by an incoming router NIC number and the logical location of the node is indicated by a VLAN ID; constructing or augmenting a dynamic data structure to include a DNS binding between the unique data link layer address, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), and an IP address for one or more of the nodes of the plurality; performing a lookup of said data link layer address of a node of the plurality in said database when traffic is received from said node; providing said node with user-specific services at a network layer or above based on the attribute information of the user associated with the node obtained from said look-up, wherein providing said node with the user-specific services includes presenting information to the user of the node that is adapted for the user or a group the user belongs to responsive to the attribute information of the user; and if an address collision occurs when receiving from a first node of the plurality of nodes a DNS request specifying the FQDN of a second node of the plurality of nodes, managing the address collision by; executing a twice NAT procedure if an IP address collision exists between the first node and the second node of the plurality of nodes, wherein a first unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the first node and a second unique IP address for which there is no address collision is issued to the second node; updating the DNS binding of the first node to include the first unique IP address and update the DNS binding of the second node to include the second unique IP address; and returning the second unique IP address to the first node in response to the DNS request.
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18. A computer network system, including:
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a plurality of client nodes, each of which has a unique data link layer address; a database configured to include records for client nodes of the plurality, each record comprising the unique data link layer address of a client node and non-IP address information associated with a user of the client node, wherein the non-IP address information includes at least one of a logical user group, a physical location of the client node, or a logical location of the client node, wherein the physical location of a client node is indicated by an incoming router NIC number and the logical location of a client node is indicated by a VLAN ID; a dynamic data structure configured to include a DNS binding between the unique data link layer address, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and an IP address for one or more client nodes of the plurality; and at least one network device configured to; identify an access from an unknown client node as a client node of the plurality that is not included in the database; identify position information for the unknown client node; add a new record to the database including the position information and the unique data link layer address for the unknown client node to the database; perform a lookup of the unique data link layer address of a client node of the plurality in the database for at least some traffic received from the client node; and provide the client node with user-specific services at a network layer or above based on the non-IP address information associated with a user of the client node obtained from the lookup. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification