SECURING AN ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER SYSTEM

• US 20100235506A1
• Filed: 03/19/2010
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.), Foundry Networks Incorporated (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barrett, Joseph G., Jalan, Rajkumar, Wright, Christopher J., Stehnach, Thomas, Blake, Victor R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,218 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service

Abstract

To secure an accessible computer system, the computer system is monitored for connection transactions. An access requestor is denied access to the computer system when the access requestor initiates a number of connection transactions that exceed a configurable threshold number during a first configurable period of time. The monitoring may include detecting connection transactions initiated by the access requestor, counting the number of connection transactions initiated by the access requestor during the first configurable period of time, and comparing the number of connection transactions initiated by the access requestor during the first configurable period of time to the configurable threshold number.

Claims

1. A method for securing an accessible computer system, the method comprising:

monitoring, at a switch that performs load balancing for access provider systems, for access requests by an access requestor to the access provider systems;

based on the monitoring, determining, by the switch, whether a cumulative number of access requests, received from the access requestor during a first period of time and handled by more than one of the access provider systems, exceeds a threshold number; and

denying, at the switch, access by the access requestor to the access provider systems in response to a determination that the cumulative number of connection transactions exceeds the threshold number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring further includes counting, using the switch, a number of access requests initiated by the access requestor to any of the access provider systems through the switch during the first period of time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further includes comparing, using the switch, the cumulative number of access requests to the threshold number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the denying of access includes denying access by the access requestor to the access provider systems for a second period of time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the denying of access includes denying access by the access requestor to the access provider systems for a second period of time after detecting a most recent access request received from the access requestor at the switch.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising restarting the second period of time during which the access requestor is denied access in response to detecting, at the switch, receipt of another access request from the access requestor before the second period of time expires.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring further includes counting, using the switch, a cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems connected to the switch initiated by the access requestor during the first period of time.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining further includes comparing, using the switch, the cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems to the threshold number.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the denying of access further includes denying, using the switch, access by the access requestor to all of the access provider systems connected to the switch when the comparison indicates that the cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems exceeds the threshold number.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further includes determining, by the switch, whether a total number of access requests initiated to all of the access provider systems by the access requestor during the first period of time exceeds the threshold number.

11. A switch comprising:

a processor; and

a memory encoded with machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, operate to cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

performing load balancing for access provider systems;

monitoring for access requests by an access requestor to the access provider systems;

based on the monitoring, determining whether a cumulative number of access requests, received from the access requestor during a first period of time and handled by more than one of the access provider systems, exceeds a threshold number; and

denying, at the switch, access by the access requestor to the access provider systems in response to a determination that the cumulative number of connection transactions exceeds the threshold number.

12. The switch of claim 11, wherein the monitoring further includes counting a number of access requests initiated by the access requestor to any of the access provider systems through the switch during the first period of time.

13. The switch of claim 11, wherein the determining further includes comparing, using the switch, the cumulative number of access requests to the threshold number.

14. The switch of claim 11, wherein the denying of access includes denying access by the access requestor to the access provider systems for a second period of time.

15. The switch of claim 11, wherein the denying of access includes denying access by the access requestor to the access provider systems for a second period of time after detecting a most recent access request received from the access requestor at the switch.

16. The switch of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise restarting the second period of time during which the access requestor is denied access in response to detecting, at the switch, receipt of another access request from the access requestor before the second period of time expires.

17. The switch of claim 11, wherein the monitoring further includes counting a cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems connected to the switch initiated by the access requestor during the first period of time.

18. The switch of claim 17, wherein the determining further includes comparing the cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems to the threshold number.

19. The switch of claim 18, wherein the denying of access further includes denying access by the access requestor to all of the access provider systems connected to the switch when the comparison indicates that the cumulative number of access requests for all of the access provider systems exceeds the threshold number.

20. The switch of claim 11, wherein the determining further includes determining whether a total number of access requests initiated to all of the access provider systems by the access requestor during the first period of time exceeds the threshold number.