High-availability remote-authentication dial-in user service

• US 8,072,990 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2007
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Tuvell, Walter, Tavakoli, Oliver, Porcher, Thomas C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryman, Daniel J
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, TITO Q
• Application Number:
  US11/738,095
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/503 using an authentication, authorisation and accounting [AAA] protocol, e.g. remote authentication dial-in user service [RADIUS] or Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols

Abstract

A method may include receiving, in a first server from a second server, a request for a service of a network by a device; sending, from the first server to the second server, a response to the request for the service to permit access to the service; and sending state information about the response to a third server for storage in a database.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, in a first server and from a second server, a request for a connection between a device and a network;

sending, from the first server to a third server, a request for a plurality of network addresses;

receiving, in the first server and from the third server, the plurality of network addresses;

caching the plurality of network addresses in the first server;

storing, in a database of the third server, a plurality of entries, where each entry, of the plurality of entries, includes information regarding a particular network address, where the information indicates;

whether the particular network address has been cached by a particular server,

an identity of the particular server that has cached the particular network address, when the network address has been cached, and

whether the particular network address has been assigned to a particular device;

assigning, by the first server and in response to the request for the connection between the device and the network, a first network address, of the plurality of network addresses, to the device; and

updating the database in the third server, upon assigning the first network address to the device, where the updating includes;

updating a first entry, of the plurality of entries, that is associated with the first network address, to indicate that the first network address has been assigned to the device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending state information about the connection to the third server for storage in the database, where the state information includes the one of the plurality of network addresses.

3. The method of claim 1, where receiving the plurality of network addresses includes receiving a plurality of network addresses that have not been assigned for a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using, by the third server, information, that is stored in the database and indicates that the first network address has been cached by the first server, to resume functionality of the first server when the first server fails.

5. A system comprising:

a first server to;

receive a request for a connection between a device and a network,

send a request for a plurality of network addresses

receive the plurality of network addresses, and

cache the plurality of network addresses;

a second server to;

receive the request for the plurality of network addresses from the first server;

store a plurality of entries, where a particular entry, of the plurality of entries, stores information regarding a particular network address, where the information indicates;

whether the particular network address has been cached by a particular server,

an identity of the particular server that has cached the particular network address, when the network address has been cached, and

whether the particular network address has been assigned to a particular device;

where the first server is further to;

assign, in response to the request for the connection between the device and the network, a first network address, of the plurality of network addresses, to the device; and

where the second server is further to;

update a first entry, of the plurality of entries, that is associated with the first network address, to indicate that the first network address has been assigned to the device.

6. The system of claim 5, where the second server is further to store state information that includes a session identifier associated with the connection.

7. The system of claim 5, where the plurality of entries are redundantly distributed over a plurality of servers.

8. The system of claim 5, where the first server is further to send state information regarding the connection between the device and the network to the second server, where the state information includes the network address sent in reply to the request.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable memory devices having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions comprising:

one or more instructions to receive, by a first server and from a second server, a request for a connection between a device and a network;

one or more instructions to send, from the first server and to a third server, a request for a plurality of network addresses;

one or more instructions to receive, by the first server, the plurality of network addresses;

one or more instructions to cache, by the first server, the plurality of network addresses;

one or more instructions to store, by the third server, a plurality of entries, where each entry, of the plurality of entries, includes information regarding a particular network address, where the information indicates;

whether the particular network address has been cached by a particular server,

an identity of the particular server that has cached the particular network address, when the network address has been cached, and

whether the particular network address has been assigned to a particular device;

one or more instructions to assign, by the first server and in response to the request for the connection between the device and the network, a first network address, of the plurality of network addresses, to the device; and

one or more instructions to update, by the third server, a first entry, of the plurality of entries, that is associated with the first network address, to indicate that the first network address has been assigned to the device.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 9, where the computer-executable instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to send state information about the connection to the third server, where the state information includes the one of the plurality of network addresses.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 9, where the one or more instructions to receive the plurality of network addresses include:

one or more instructions to receive a plurality of network addresses that have not been assigned for a predetermined period of time.