System and method for associating an end user for billing in a network environment
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of processors;
a flow manager element communicatively coupled to the plurality of processors and operable to;
receive a first packet of a communication session from one or more interfaces, the first packet being part of a peer-to-peer transaction between a first end user and a second end user;
determine whether the first packet is received from a subscriber interface or a network interface;
associate the communication session to the first end user with a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the packet when the packet is received from the subscriber interface;
determine a processor from the plurality of processors to forward the received first packet of the communication session based on the associated source IP address;
receive the first packet of the communication session from a network virtual LAN, the first packet being forwarded from a router;
in response to receiving the first packet from the network virtual LAN, associate the communication session to the second end user with a destination IP address;
obtain subscriber information of the first end user and the second end user by searching an external database using the associated source IP address or associated destination IP address;
create a first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user, wherein the first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user resides on the determined processor;
associate the subscriber information of the first end user with the determined processor;
create a second session object associated with the subscriber information of the second end user;
process billing associated with the first session object and the second session object; and
forward the received first packet of the communication session to the detelmined processor.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more packets of a communication session from one or more interfaces, such that the interface is a subscriber interface or a network interface. The method further includes associating the communication session to an end user with a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the packet if the packet is received from the subscriber interface or to an end user with a destination IP address of the packet if the packet is received from the network interface.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of processors; a flow manager element communicatively coupled to the plurality of processors and operable to; receive a first packet of a communication session from one or more interfaces, the first packet being part of a peer-to-peer transaction between a first end user and a second end user; determine whether the first packet is received from a subscriber interface or a network interface; associate the communication session to the first end user with a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the packet when the packet is received from the subscriber interface; determine a processor from the plurality of processors to forward the received first packet of the communication session based on the associated source IP address; receive the first packet of the communication session from a network virtual LAN, the first packet being forwarded from a router; in response to receiving the first packet from the network virtual LAN, associate the communication session to the second end user with a destination IP address; obtain subscriber information of the first end user and the second end user by searching an external database using the associated source IP address or associated destination IP address; create a first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user, wherein the first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user resides on the determined processor; associate the subscriber information of the first end user with the determined processor; create a second session object associated with the subscriber information of the second end user; process billing associated with the first session object and the second session object; and forward the received first packet of the communication session to the detelmined processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method, comprising:
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receiving a first packet of a communication session from one or more interfaces, the first packet being part of a peer-to-peer transaction between a first end user and a second end user; determining whether the first packet is received from a subscriber interface or a network interface; associating the communication session to the first end user with a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the packet when the packet is received from the subscriber interface; determining a processor from a plurality of processors to forward the received first packet of the communication session based on the associated source IP address; receiving the first packet of the communication session from a network virtual LAN, the first packet being forwarded from a router; in response to receiving the first packet from the network virtual LAN, associating the communication session to the second end user with a destination IP address; obtaining subscriber information of the first end user and the second end user by searching an external database using the associated source IP address or associated destination IP address; creating a first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user, wherein the first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user resides on the determined processor; associating the subscriber information of the first end user with the determined processor; creating a second session object associated with the subscriber information of the second end user; processing billing associated with the first session object and the second session object; and forwarding the received first packet of the communication session to the determined processor. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, operable to cause one or more processors to:
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receive a first packet of a communication session from one or more interfaces, the first packet being part of a peer-to-peer transaction between a first end user and a second end user; determine whether the first packet is received from a subscriber interface or a network interface; associate the communication session to the first end user with a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the packet when the packet is received from the subscriber interface; determine a processor from a plurality of processors in a client service packet gateway to forward the received first packet of the communication session based on the associated source IP address; receive the first packet of the communication session from a network virtual LAN, the first packet being forwarded from a router; in response to receiving the first packet from the network virtual LAN, associate the communication session to the second end user with a destination IP address; obtain subscriber information of the first end user and the second end user by searching an external database using the associated source IP address or associated destination IP address; create a first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user, wherein the first session object associated with the subscriber information of the first end user resides on the determined processor; associate the subscriber information of the first end user with the determined processor; create a second session object associated with the subscriber information of the second end user; process billing associated with the first session object and the second session object; and forward the received first packet of the communication session to the determined processor. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification