Distributed Network Communication System Which Selectively Provides Data to Different Network Destinations

• US 20100049855A1
• Filed: 10/27/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thompson, James, Stewart, Brett B., McClelland, Kathleen E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,331,383 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1464 using a card, such as credit card, prepay card or SIM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1496 involving discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2874 Processing of data for distribution to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/004 in the uplink, i.e. towards network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A system and method for providing access and/or roaming features on a network system. The network system includes a plurality of wireless and/or wired access points coupled to a network. Access points (APs) for the network may be widely distributed in various facilities, such as airports, mass-transit stations, and various businesses. The network may couple to a wide area network, such as the Internet. In one embodiment, a portable computing device (PCD) of a user may store identification information which uniquely indicates a network provider of a plurality of possible network providers. The identification information may also or instead indicate an access or privilege level of the user. Each of the access points are operable to “listen for” or detect identification information associated with numerous different providers. When the access point receives the identification information from a PCD of a user, the access point may determine the appropriate network provider for the portable computing device using the identification information. Network access may then be provided to the portable computing device through the determined network provider. Thus the network system is useable by subscribers of each of the plurality of possible network providers, thereby enabling subscribers to “roam” on various wireless networks, including networks maintained by other providers. The access information may also include an access level which indicates the user'"'"'s access or privilege level. Thus, the local network may provide various local resources which are available to users having a first access level, and users with a second access level may not be entitled to view or utilize these network resources on the network, but may be simply provided external Internet access.

Claims

1. A method for operating a network system, the method comprising:

receiving, at an access point coupled to a network, identification information from a portable computing device,

accessing a memory medium which stores a data structure comprising a list of identification information entries each indicating network access information;

if the identification information received from the portable computing device does not map to an identification information entry in the data structure, then providing, through the access point, network access to the portable computing device according to a default access level and a mechanism to register with a network provider; and

allowing external network access to the portable communication device upon registration with a network provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mechanism comprises a web page including a form for entering billing information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the network provider is a default network provider.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the mechanism to register comprises

transmitting a web page corresponding to a default network provider to the personal computing device;

and

receiving registration information from the personal computing device.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the registration information comprises billing information.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein providing the mechanism to register further comprises selecting the default network provider from a plurality of possible network providers.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein allowing external network access comprises receiving, at the access point, data communications from the portable computing device;

and routing the data communications from the portable computing device through a network destination corresponding to the network provider.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said routing the data communications from the portable computing device to the network destination comprises using a VLAN associated with the network provider.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the data structure further stores a respective network destination for each identification information entry;

and

wherein said routing the data communications further comprises indexing into the data structure using the identification information to determine the network destination stored in the data structure corresponding to the identification information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification information comprises a media access control (MAC) identification.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the access point concurrently using a plurality of radio frequency (RF) channels for communicating with one or more portable computing devices.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a first RF channel of the plurality of RF channels and a second RF channel of the plurality of RF channels are non-overlapping RF channels.

13. An apparatus, comprising

a network interface;

a wireless network interface; and

a control unit operably connected to the network interface and the wireless network interface and configured to;

receive identification information from a portable computing device,

access a memory medium which stores a data structure comprising a list of identification information entries each indicating network access information;

if the identification information received from the portable computing device does not map to an identification information entry in the data structure, then provide network access to the portable computing device according to a default access level and a mechanism to register with a network provider; and

allow external network access to the portable communication device upon registration with a network provider.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the mechanism comprises a web page including a form for entering billing information.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the network provider is a default network provider.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein, to allow external network access, the control unit is further configured to

receive data communications from the portable computing device;

and

route the data communications from the portable computing device through a network destination corresponding to the network provider.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said routing the data communications from the portable computing device to the network destination comprises using a VLAN associated with the network provider.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the data structure further stores a respective network destination for each identification information entry;

and wherein, to route the data communications, the control unit is further configured to index into the data structure using the identification information to determine the network destination stored in the data structure corresponding to the identification information.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein, wherein the identification information comprises a media access control (MAC) identification.

20. A network system, comprising:

a network;

a plurality of access points coupled to the network;

wherein an access point of the plurality of access points comprises a processor a memory medium coupled to the memory processor;

wherein the memory medium stores a data structure comprising a list of identification information entries each indicating network access information;

wherein the memory medium comprises program instructions which are executable by the processor to;

receive identification information from a portable computing device,

access a memory medium which stores a data structure comprising a list of identification information entries each indicating network access information;

if the identification information received from the portable computing device does not map to an identification information entry in the data structure, then provide network access to the portable computing device according to a default access level and a mechanism to register with a network provider; and

allow external network access to the portable communication device upon registration with a network provider.