Patent · US Expired

Supporting authentication across multiple network access servers

US6011910A · kind A · utility

196Cited by
9References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 8, 1997
Grant dateJan 4, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 8, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L12/2874
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides a modular architecture for connecting a plurality of telephone lines to a computer network. The invention binds a plurality of network access servers together so that they form a single system image to clients dialing into the plurality of network access servers. The invention operates by providing a tunneling mechanism for communication between the network access servers. The tunneling mechanism facilitates packet re-forwarding so that a call dialed into a physical port in a network access server can be re-forwarded through a logical port in another network access server. This allows a call to be routed through a physical port in a network access server even if no logical port is available in the network access server. Packet re-forwarding also allows multilink connections through physical ports in multiple network access servers to be routed through a single logical port in a network access server. Packet re-forwarding also provides support for spoofing; if the telephone line is torn down during spoofing, the logical port is maintained so that the connection may be reestablished through a physical port in another network access server. Finally, the …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.