U.S. patent application number 11/627937 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-31 for system and method for distributed network authentication and access control.
This patent application is currently assigned to HEREUARE COMMUNICATIONS INC.. Invention is credited to Francis M. JR. Anton, Clark Dong, Jong C. Kim, Ranganatha Marathe.
Application Number | 20070124802 11/627937 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24522872 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070124802 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Anton; Francis M. JR. ; et
al. |
May 31, 2007 |
System and Method for Distributed Network Authentication and Access
Control
Abstract
A user gains access to a private network by connecting to a
network, either through a hardwired or wireless connection, and
then initiates an Internet access request targeting any website. If
the user is not already authorized for Internet access, then the
user is sent to a first predetermined website that points the user
to an authentication server accessible via the Internet. The
authentication server sends the user an HTTP form pages requesting
authentication information. When the user responds, a network
monitoring device within the private network alters the form page
to include the user's hardware address and an encoded ID based on
the network's location. The authentication server forwards this
data to a gate keeper server, which authenticates the new user and
transmits an unblock message along with another encoded ID based on
the network's location and the user's hardware address.
Inventors: |
Anton; Francis M. JR.; (San
Jose, CA) ; Dong; Clark; (San Jose, CA) ; Kim;
Jong C.; (San Jose, CA) ; Marathe; Ranganatha;
(Santa Clara, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW GROUP LLP
12 SOUTH FIRST STREET
SUITE 1205
SAN JOSE
CA
95113
US
|
Assignee: |
HEREUARE COMMUNICATIONS
INC.
Santa Clara
CA
|
Family ID: |
24522872 |
Appl. No.: |
11/627937 |
Filed: |
January 26, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09629408 |
Aug 1, 2000 |
7185360 |
|
|
11627937 |
Jan 26, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
726/3 ; 726/13;
726/4; 726/5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 80/00 20130101;
H04L 63/126 20130101; H04L 63/10 20130101; H04L 63/083
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
726/003 ;
726/013; 726/004; 726/005 |
International
Class: |
H04L 9/32 20060101
H04L009/32; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16; G06K 9/00 20060101
G06K009/00; G06F 17/00 20060101 G06F017/00; G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; G06F 9/00 20060101 G06F009/00; G06F 7/04 20060101
G06F007/04; G06F 7/58 20060101 G06F007/58; G06K 19/00 20060101
G06K019/00 |
Claims
1. A computer method for controlling Internet access on a network,
said method comprising: connecting at least one access device to
said network, said at least one access device originating out-going
data packets, each of said at least one access device being
characterized by a unique hardware address; accessing a redirection
server via the Internet; monitoring out-going data packets sent
from said network to the Internet via a network monitoring device
and verifying if an originator access device of an out-going data
packet is authorized for Internet access, forwarding unimpededly
all out-going packets originated from authorized access devices to
the Internet and inspecting all out-going data packets originated
from unauthorized access devices for determination of their target
destination Internet websites, and checking if a determined target
destination Internet website matches a predetermined authentication
server website and in response to said checking forwarding a
corresponding out-going data packet to said predetermined
authentication server for a match found, said network monitoring
device responding to a match not being found by disregarding the
determined destination Internet website and forwarding the
out-going data packet to said redirection server; whereby all
out-going data packets to the Internet gain access to the Internet
irrespective of whether their respective originator access devices
are authorized for Internet access.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said redirection server responds
to a received data packet from an unauthorized originator access
device by sending said originator access device a message
instructing it to connect to said predetermined authentication
server.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said authentication server
responds to an unsolicited received data packet by sending an
originator access device of said data packet a questionnaire form
soliciting authentication information, said questionnaire form
including a hidden reserved field and a first identification
keyword.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said hidden reserved field is not
accessible by said originator access device which receives said
questionnaire form.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said first identification keyword
is based on address information from said network monitoring
device.
6. The method of claim 3 wherein, after verifying that said
determined target destination Internet website matches said
predetermined authentication server and before forwarding the
out-going data to said predetermined authentication server, said
network monitoring device further scanning contents of said
out-going data packet in search of said first identification
keyword and upon locating said first identification keyword,
generating a second identification keyword based on the unique
hardware address of the originator access device, and inserting
said second identification keyword in said hidden reserved
field.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said second identification keyword
is additionally based on current communication session
information.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein said second identification keyword
is additionally based on location information of said network
monitoring device.
9. The method of claim 6 wherein said hidden reserved field is
located within said out-going data packet a predetermined number of
bytes away from said first identification keyword.
10. The method of claim 6 wherein said hidden reserved field is
immediately preceded by said first identification keyword within
said out-going data packet.
11. The method of claim 3 wherein said originator access device
receiving said questionnaire form uses web browsing software to
supply said solicited authentication information into said
questionnaire form before transmitting the questionnaire form back
to said authentication server via the Internet.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein said authentication server
responds to a solicited data packet having a hidden reserved field
by extracting the contents of said hidden reserved field and
extracting authentication information from said solicited data
packet, the extracted information being sent to a gate keeper
server.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein said gate keeper server is
accessible via the Internet.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein said authentication server uses
a CGI script to parse said extracted information from said
solicited data packet.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein said gate keeper server compares
said authentication information with a predefined database to
determine if said originator access device is registered, and
responds to the verification of the originator access device being
registered by sending an unblock message to said network monitoring
device.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said unblock message is
encrypted with an identification keyword.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein upon verification of the
originator access device being registered, said gate keeper server
decodes contents of said hidden reserved field to determine the
unique hardware address of said originator access device and
labeling said unblock message with said hardware address.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein said network monitoring device
responds to receipt of said unblock message by updating a network
access list to authorize said originator access device for Internet
access.
19. A method for remotely authenticating a user on a private
network via the Internet, the method comprising: permitting said
user access to said private network via a network access device,
said access device being characterized by a unique hardware;
accessing an authentication server via the Internet; monitoring the
destination address of all out-going messages from said private
network to the Internet via a network monitoring device and
scanning the content of any message whose destination is said
authentication server to search for a first predetermined
identification code in said message, said network monitoring device
responding to the detection of said first predetermined
identification code by determining the hardware address of the
access device that originated the message and generating a second
identification code based on said hardware address, said network
monitoring device further inserting said second identification code
in said message before forwarding said message to said
authentication server; said authentication server responding to
receipt of said forwarded message from said network monitoring
device by decoding said hardware address from said second
identification code; generating and transmitting a third
identification code based on said hardware address along with an
unblock message to said network monitoring device.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein said network monitoring device
responds to said unblock message by updating a network access list
to authorize for Internet access the user whose network access
device has the same hardware address as is embedded in said third
identification code.
21. The method of claim 19 wherein said second identification code
is further based on the Internet protocol address of said network
monitoring device.
22. The method of claim 19 wherein said third identification code
is further based on the Internet protocol address of said network
monitoring device.
23. The method of claim 19 wherein said network monitoring device
responds to the absence of said first predetermined identification
code in a message whose destination is said authentication server
by forwarding said message to said authentication server with no
modification to said message.
24. The method of claim 19 wherein said network monitoring device
is further effective for verifying if an out-going message is
originated by an authorized user and permitting all out-going
messages from authorized users unimpeded access to the Internet,
inspecting destination addresses of all messages from unauthorized
users to determined if their destination is said authentication
server, and responding to a destination address other than said
authentication server by ignoring the destination address and
forwarding the message to a predetermined redirection server via
the Internet; whereby all out-going messages to the Internet are
granted access to the Internet irrespective of whether the message
is originated by an unauthorized user.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein said redirection server responds
to a received message from an unauthorized user by sending the
user's network access device a message instructing it to connect to
said authentication server.
26. The method of claim 19 wherein said authentication server
responds to a received message lacking said second identification
code by generating said first predetermined identification code
based on location information of said private network, said
authentication server further sending the network access device
that originated the message a questionnaire form soliciting
authentication information from its respective user, said
questionnaire form including a hidden reserved field and said first
predetermined identification code.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein said hidden reserved field is
not accessible by the user that receives said questionnaire
form.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein said hidden reserved field is
preceded by said first predetermined identification code in said
questionnaire form.
29. The method of claim 26 wherein said network monitoring device
inserts said second identification code in said hidden reserved
field of any messages sent by a user to said authorization
server.
30. The method of claim 26, further comprising said authentication
server being able to identify filled questionnaire forms received
from unauthorized users and being effective for parsing out the
user's authentication information along with said hardware address
from said second identification code; relaying said authentication
information and hardware address to a gate keeper server for
verification, said gate keeper server responding to the
verification of an unauthorized user by generating said third
identification code and transmitting said unblock message to said
network monitoring device.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein said gate keeper is accessed via
a secure link from said authorization server.
32. The method of claim 30 wherein said authorization server
accesses said gate keeper server via the Internet.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/629,408 filed Aug. 1, 2000 which is herein incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a computer method and system for
performing user authentication and access control of data traffic
at wireline and wireless entry points to the Internet.
[0004] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0005] The popularity of the Internet has made a vast amount of
information readily available to anyone with an Internet
connection. Internet-enabled electronic mail has become an
essential form of business communication. Currently, connections to
the Internet are predominantly made with landline access links such
as dial-up modems, digital subscriber lines, and cable modems.
[0006] These types of connections, although pervasive, offer
limited mobility to a user and make the sharing of an Internet
connection difficult. For example, many libraries offer Internet
access at dedicated computer terminals and some universities
provide network access jacks at multiple buildings on their
campuses for convenient access by students using laptop computers.
Both of these approaches offer a means for accessing the Internet
at locations other than one's own landline access link, but both
require that one remain stationary at the publicly-provided access
point and both require a substantial infrastructure investment on
the part of the institution providing the network connection. Since
it is not generally possible to have multiple users sharing the
same network access jack or dedicated terminal, the institution
must provide a separate access point for each patron it wishes to
service. Additionally, those institutions offering access jacks to
their network, such as universities, typically require that the
user have a registered network account before being given access to
the network, which further limits the network's accessibility to
the public.
[0007] Similarly, when a vendor visits a customer site on whose
computer network the vendor does not have an account, the vendor
will find it very difficult to gain access to the network, and
hence to the Internet, email accounts, and other vital data. Should
the vendor be fortunate enough to gain access to a network jack,
the vendor will still be at the mercy of the customer site's
network administrator. For security reasons, it is customary for
companies to set up their computer networks to deny access to
anyone not already present in their access list of registered
users.
[0008] Thus, mobile access to the Internet is limited by two
factors. The first is the physical requirement for a user to
maintain a line connection to sparsely located network access
jacks. The second is the difficulty in gaining access to a network
on which one does not have a registered account. The first of these
factors has begun to be overcome by the introduction of wireless
data networks, which do not require that a user maintain an access
line plugged into a network access jack and thus do not require
that the user remain stationary. Additionally, because the network
connections are made wirelessly, it is relatively easy for multiple
users to connect and disconnect from a network using the same
access point. Overcoming the second factor is not so
straightforward, and is addressed more fully below.
[0009] An example of a currently widely available wireless data
network is the low speed personal communication service (PCS)
network. The primary access devices of this type of network are
cellular telephones with built-in Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) features. These wireless networks operate in a licensed
frequency band, are centrally planned, and are built by large
telecommunication carriers. Typically, each cell has a large radius
of about 2-10 miles and operates at a slow speed of about 19 Kbps.
In any given geographical region there are only a handful of
telecommunication carriers servicing the area, and each network is
proprietary and closed to competing networks. Thus, to some degree
one is not free to roam from one network to another. Additionally,
their slow speed makes full access to the Internet impractical and
such network devices are typically restricted to abridged textual
displays.
[0010] An emerging new class of wireless data networks offer higher
speeds of about 1-11 Mbps. These networks operate in an unlicensed
frequency band and are based on emerging wireless communication
protocol standards such as IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth and homeRF. A
common characteristic of these types of networks is a small cell
radius of about 200 feet. The cells are radio or infrared base
stations that function as access points to a network. Several of
these access points may be distributed in close proximity to each
other to expand the overall range of this type of wireless network.
An introduction to such networks can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,771,462 and 5,539,824.
[0011] Various network configurations may be formed using these
types of wireless network devices. FIG. 1 shows multiple computers
11 to 17 equipped with wireless network radio devices characterized
by respective antennas 19-25. When computers 11-17 are within close
proximity to each other, they can form a type of ad hoc network and
communicate among themselves. Absent from this type of ad hoc
network, however, is a base station cell that can connect their ad
hoc network to a wireline network having landline access to the
Internet. Therefore, this type of ad hoc network does not have
access to the Internet.
[0012] With reference to FIG. 2, in order to access the Internet,
one needs to gain access to a network having a router 37 which in
turn connects the network to the Internet 35. These types of
networks are typically characterized by a server 31 which controls
access to various services on the network, including Internet
services. Workstations 33 connect to the server 31 by means of
various types of hardware cabling media 53. The network may provide
wireless access points 41 and 43 to respectively couple computers
47 and 49, which are equipped with wireless communication devices
illustrated as antennas, to the hardwired network controlled by
server 31. The access points 41 and 43 establish wireless
connections with computers 47 and 49 by means of various
communication systems such as radio and infrared waves, and have a
hardwired connection to server 31 along cable 53. The function of
access points 41 and 43 is to relay communication between server 31
and wireless network computers 47 and 49 respectively, but server
31 still controls what services are provided to computers 47 and
49. Thus, server 31 may deny Internet services to computers 47 and
49. Indeed, server 31 may refuse computers 47 and 49 entry to the
network if they do not already have network accounts registered
with server 31.
[0013] As was stated above, wireless networks have a short range,
and so a second access point 45 may be used to function as a
repeater between a more distant wireless network computer 51 and
access point 43. This is an example of using multiple base station
access points 43 and 45 to extend the range of a wireless
network.
[0014] With reference to FIG. 3, many network layout configurations
are known, and server 53 need not be located between a router 55
and the other network nodes 61 to 65. In the network layout of FIG.
3, access point 67 has direct access to router 55, which in turn
has access to the Internet 59, but this does not mean that server
53 loses its control over the network. Regardless of the layout,
server 53 may still be in charge of authenticating new users and
assigning resources. Again, access point 67 is illustrated as a
wireless access point due to its convenience in permitting multiple
users 61 to 65 easy access to the network, but other hardwired
access point connections are likewise typical.
[0015] In spite of their convenience, such wireless networks have
been prohibitive in the past due to their relatively high costs.
Until recently, the components required to implement a wireless
network had been costly, but recent developments in technology have
begun lowering the price of both the cell base stations and radio
devices needed to implement a wireless network. Such wireless
networks are now becoming more prevalent in the industry, and
Applicants envision a time when many small businesses may operate
their own autonomous wireless networks. The size of these
autonomous wireless networks could range from a city block, to a
small building, to a coffee shop. It would then be possible for a
mobile user to always have access to a wireless network by means of
a mobile computing device equipped with the proper radio
communication devices. Thus, this type of wireless network would
overcome the first factor limiting the free and mobile access to
the Internet discussed above.
[0016] Nonetheless, one is still faced with the second factor
mentioned above which restricts mobile access to the Internet.
Since most autonomous wireless networks are independent, a mobile
user would typically not be given access to a target network unless
an access account had been setup ahead of time for the mobile user
on the target network. Even if a user had access accounts at
multiple wireless networks, the user would have to stop his
activities and re-authenticate on a different wireless network
every time he moved from one autonomous network to another.
[0017] Some prior art can be found in the areas describing methods
of accessing foreign networks and methods of implementing multiple
network transfers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,127, for example, shows a
telephone system that facilitates remote access to a private
network from non-network locations or stations. The system
authorizes remote access to the private network based on a calling
party number of the non-network station and/or an authentication
code entered by the remote calling party. U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,318
describes various method of providing access to a private LAN and
to the Internet via a "public mobile data network" including a
location register, which serves as a database for storing location
information of mobile data terminals and subscriber information.
Along a similar note, U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,373 shows a method by
which a remote user can gain secure access to a private WAN. A
central authentication office acts as a proxy to authorize a remote
user and establish a secure connection to the private network. The
central office sends the remote user a service registration
template HTML file to be filled by the remote user. Once the remote
user has been authenticated, a connection is made with the private
network. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,019 shows a system by which
a remote user can establish a simulated direct dial-up connection
to a private network via the Internet.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,033 describes a system wherein a user
has accounts in multiple databases with different passwords in each
of the databases. To access all of the databases, the user logs on
to a master password database which then submits the appropriate
password to whichever database the user wishes to access. U.S. Pat.
No. 5,872,915 shows a method of permitting secure access to
software on a web server via the Internet. A user enters data via a
web browser, which is communicated to the web server application.
The web server application then authenticates the web browser, and
passes appropriate input data to an application gateway, including
data to uniquely identify the web browser. The application gateway
then uses authentication data received from the browser to
determine whether the user of the browser is authorized to access
the software application. U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,719 describes another
method of authenticating a user wherein the system forgoes the use
of ID tokens in favor of authorizing transactions by using the
correlative comparison of a unique biometrics sample, such a finger
print or voice recording, gathered directly from the person of an
unknown user, with an authenticated biometrics sample of the same
type obtained and stored previously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] The above described methods of authenticating a user and
increasing communication between foreign networks do not address
the problem of permitting network access to a mobile user who does
not have a registered account with a target network. Similarly,
they do not discuss the infrastructure required to implement such a
system.
[0020] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system
and method of permitting mobile users to gain Internet access via
foreign data networks.
[0021] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
system of facilitating wireless access to the Internet even without
the use of an intermediate private network.
[0022] The above objects are met in a method of permitting
distributed access control of computing devices across a plurality
of small-radius data networks. The present invention, however, is
not limited to small-radius data networks, and can be applied
traditional hardwired, large-radius networks. A user wanting to
gain access to a private network first makes a physical connection
to the target network. The physical connection may be through a
wireless base station, or may be through a wired hub, switch, or
firewall. Once connected, the potential new user may then try to
gain access to the target network's resources, such as Internet
services.
[0023] Typically, a private network would respond to a new user
attempting to gain access to the network by first attempting to
verify the new user's identity and network privileges. If the new
user is not among the private network's lists of authorized users,
then the private network would have the choice of refusing the new
user entry to the network or establishing a temporary session with
minimal privileges for the new user under a guest account. If the
new user were given a guest account, however, the private network
would not have an accurate record of the new user's identity. Thus,
most private network choose to refuse entry to any unregistered
users. This type of network response is especially problematic in
an envisioned distributed network consisting of multiple small
private networks responsive to mobile individuals. The present
invention seeks to alleviate this predicament by establishing a
system by which new users in such "guest" accounts would be
accurately identified.
[0024] This identification is useful not only for maintaining an
accurate log of all users on a network, but also for billing
purposes. For example, in a distributed network consisting of
multiple small private networks, it may desirable to bill "guest"
users for access time on a private network. In the present
invention, this is accomplished by having a centralized
authentication web server to which both a mobile user and a target
private network subscribe. The mobile user creates an account with
the authentication web server, including an identification means
such as a password. The private network accepts the authentication
results from the authentication web server and creates the
appropriate limited network access for the new user.
[0025] In operation, a client device (new user) physically connects
to the target network via an access control device and initiates an
Internet access request. If the client device is not among the
target network's list of authorized users, the access control
re-directs the client device to the authentication web server via
the Internet. The authentication web server sends the client device
an HTML logon page through which the client device supplies the
proper authentication information to the system. The authentication
device parses the information sent to it by the client device and
authenticates the client device. If the client device is properly
identified, then the authentication web server sends an "unblock"
message to the access control device which is used exclusively for
the specified client device. All further traffic from the client
device flows through the access control device until an access
expiration event happens, such as a timer expiration, an explicit
"disable client device" message, or a client device disconnected
message.
[0026] It is thus very important that the authentication web server
be able to accurately identify both the client device and the
target network. Due to the pervasive use of network address
translation services in the industry, it cannot be assured that the
IP addressing information received from the client device is
accurate, nor would it be prudent to rely on identification
information from the web browser, such as cookies, to establish the
identity of the client device; otherwise the system would be
susceptible to malicious use by software hackers. Therefore, the
present invention establishes the identity of users by using
embedded IDs generated from the client device's and access point's
hardware host addresses into reserved string fields of an HTML
file.
[0027] Additionally, since the present invention is interested
primarily in providing Internet access to mobile users, the present
invention proposes the use of enhanced remote access points having
built-in router capabilities to directly connect a potential client
user to the authentication web server and the Internet without the
need of a private party's autonomous network. The authentication
web server would maintain a record of the individual access points
used and the names of the client users. Thus, the owners of the
enhanced access points would still maintain an accurate record of
all users for billing purposes. Alternatively, the client users
could be billed or charged directly by the authentication web
server and a percentage of the billings sent to the owner of the
enhanced access point used by the client user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] These and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention are better understood by reading the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is a prior art depiction of an ad hoc network using
wireless communication;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a first prior art network layout using both
wireline and wireless network connections;
[0031] FIG. 3 is a second prior art network layout using both
wireline and wireless network connections;
[0032] FIG. 4 is a prior art depiction of network communication
using IP protocols;
[0033] FIG. 5 is a prior art depiction of the use of network
address translation;
[0034] FIG. 6 is a first network layout in accord with the present
invention;
[0035] FIG. 7 is a second network layout in accord with the present
invention; and
[0036] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of message flow in the first
network layout.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY
EMBODIMENTS
[0037] In order to facilitate the use of the present invention, the
best mode of a presently preferred exemplary embodiment makes use
of existing hardware and software tools with minimal modification
to both. As it is known in the art, network communication processes
are divided into multiple standardized stages, or layers, and each
layer is assigned a specific task necessary for network
communication. A widely used network communication standard is the
Open System Interconnection (OSI) standard developed by the
International Standards Organization (ISO). The OSI communication
model divides network communication into seven layers. Each layer
has a predefined, standardized mechanism for communicating with the
layer immediately above it and immediately below it. In this
manner, any layer may be modified or optimized without requiring
modification of any other layer as long as the same standardized
mechanism is used to communicate with adjacent layers.
[0038] The first layer is the physical layer and it describes the
hardware medium for transmitting and receiving a logic 1 and a
logic 0. The second layer is the data link layer and it translates
messages into correct format for the physical layer to transmit,
and translates messages received by the physical layer for upper
layers to understand. Basically the data link layer formats
messages into data frames that encapsulate the messages and adds
customized information, including a CRC code, destination address
information, and source address information. The third layer is the
network layer and its main function is to direct data from a source
network to a destination network. This third layer is sometimes
called the Internet layer since its job is basically to route
messages and provide a standard network interface for upper layers.
The present invention resides in this third layer, and thereby can
be implemented with software modifications without requiring any
additional hardware modifications. Since much of the existing
hardware, such as routers and hubs, have updateable firmware, the
present invention may be easily assimilated into current
networks.
[0039] Various types of network protocols may be associated with
the third layer of the OSI model, but the present invention
preferably makes use of the Internet protocol, IP, which is the
protocol used by networks to communicate with the Internet. It may
therefore be advantageous to briefly describe the aspects further
aspects of the IP addressing protocol relevant to the best mode of
this preferred embodiment of the present invention before
proceeding further in this discussion.
[0040] With reference to FIG. 4, computer 71 is part of a first
network 72 wishing to communicate with computer 75, which is part
of a second network 79. The two networks 72 and 79 are coupled by
router 74, which relays messages between the networks 72 and 79.
Every node in a network has a unique hardware address, including
side A of router 74, which communicates with computer 71, and side
B of router 74, which communicates with computer 75. When nodes
within the same network target each other for communication, the
sent messages are encapsulated with header information including
the hardware and IP address of the source node and the hardware and
IP address of the destination, or target, node. All nodes within
the same network may pick up the message, but the message is
ignored if the destination hardware address does not match their
own. If the hardware address does match a particular node, then
that node checks the IP address of the message to verify that they
are indeed the intended receiver of the message. For example, if
computer 71 wished to send a message to router 74, then the message
header would include a source hardware address of 100, source IP
address of 222.222.222.1, a destination hardware address of 200 and
destination IP address of 222.222.222.2. If router 74 wanted to
respond to the message then its response would include a similar
header with the source and destination addresses interchanged.
[0041] When messages must pass several networks to reach their
destination node, the header information changes every time the
message traverses a router. Nonetheless, the IP address of the
destination node is maintained constant across the networks. As an
example, assuming that computer 71 wishes to send a message to
computer 75, the header of the information must relay the message
through router 74. Therefore, the message leaving computer 71 will
include a source hardware address of 100 and an IP address of
222.222.222.1, as well as the IP address of computer 75. However,
since computer 75 is not within the same network as computer 71,
the message will include the hardware address 200 of the router 74.
The router 74 will pick up the message since the message has its
hardware address, but upon inspection of the destination IP address
will determine that the final destination is that of computer 75.
Therefore, the router will forward the message to computer 75 with
a new header. The new header will identify computer 71 as the
originator of the message by maintaining its source IP address of
222.222.222.1, but will identify router 74 as the sender of the
forwarded message by listing the source hardware address 300 of
side B of router 74. Since side B of router 74 faces the same
network 79 as computer 75, the forwarded message will include the
correct destination hardware and IP address of computer 75. When
responding, computer 75 will know that the original source of the
message was computer 71 because it IP address was preserved in
spite having received the message from the router 74. This would be
true no matter the number of routers the message had to traverse
before reaching computer 75. In this case, it can be seen that the
source IP address in the header of a message can uniquely identify
the originator of a message, whereas the source hardware address
changes every time the message passes through a router and is thus
not a reliable source for identifying the originator of the
message. It would seem therefore that the source IP address in the
header of a message would be a prime candidate for identifying a
specific node across multiple networks, as is required by the
present invention. However, this is not the case if a message
crosses a network making use of Network Address Translation (NAT)
services to manage its access network nodes.
[0042] In order for a node to access the Internet, the node must
have a unique IP address. However, the number of unique IP address
is limited and many networks make use of NAT services for
permitting many network nodes, or network computers, to access the
Internet using the same IP address.
[0043] A simple example of network address translation is shown in
FIG. 5. here, computers 72 to 76 are part of a network that shares
a single valid IP address, 201.1.2.3, by means of a network address
translation manager 78. Each of computers 72 to 76 is given an
arbitrary IP address that is unique within the network, but is not
necessarily a valid Internet IP address. When any of computers 72
to 76 wants to access the Internet 80, they must first through NAT
manager 78, which relays the message to the Internet with the
correct IP address 84 and its own hardware address 104.
Additionally, NAT 78 assigns a unique access port number to each
incoming message from computers 72-76, and maintains a table
associating the hardware and IP address of the originating source
computer 74-76 with the assigned port number. This assigned port
number is part of the identification data included in the header
encapsulating a message, and is therefore sent along with the
message to the Internet 80. When a message is received from the
Internet 80, the header information of the received message will
list the IP and hardware address of NAT 78 as its destination data,
but will also have the port number NAT 78 had assigned to the
originally relayed message. NAT 78 uses this port number to
identify which of computers 72-76 originated the message and relays
the response from the Internet to the computers 72-76
accordingly.
[0044] Thus in this case, a target web page within the Internet 80
will not be able to identify the originator of a message since all
messages coming from the network behind NAT 78 will have the same
source IP and hardware address. Therefore, this preferred
embodiment of the present invention chooses not to rely on the
source IP address in the header of a message when trying to
identify the network node that originated a message.
[0045] A major object of the present invention is to be able to
uniquely identify a mobile user no matter what type of network the
user connects to in order to gain access to the Internet.
Therefore, this preferred embodiment of the present invention
deviates from the prior art when identifying the source of a mobile
user.
[0046] A first embodiment of a network system in accord with the
present invention is shown in FIG. 6. The present invention may be
utilized in a network having a layout similar to that of FIG. 2 or
any other known network configuration, but is preferred that an
access point 123 in accord with the present invention be placed
close to a network node with Internet access. In FIG. 6, router 127
couples a source network 129 with the Internet 131. Therefore,
access point 123 is shown next to router 127. In the present
example, a mobile user utilizing a laptop computer 121 connects to
network 129 using wireless access point 123. It is to be understood
that a mobile user may also connect to network 129 by means of a
hardware access jack.
[0047] Within network 129, server 125 is preferably in charge of
authenticating all new users and allocating various network
services, including Internet access. In the present example, the
mobile user accesses network 129 using a laptop computer 121 and
access point 123, but does not have a network account with server
125 and would therefore typically be denied network access.
Nonetheless, the mobile user initiates an Internet access session
to a desired target web page 133 by means of almost any web
browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator,
etc. The mobile user device 121 thus goes through its domain name
resolution process to identify the address of target web page 133.
Network 129 will permit all DNS traffic to the Internet, even from
unauthorized user, and the mobile user thus receives the correct IP
address of its target web page 133.
[0048] As is known in the art, a TCP connection is started by a
source host sending a SYN, i.e., synchronize/start, packet to a
destination host and then waiting for a synchronize acknowledge
(SYN ACK). In the present case as shown in FIG. 8, however, when
mobile user device 121 attempts to open an HTTP connection to the
target device 133 by sending a TCP SYN packet to the target web
page 133 using the acquired destination IP address in Step 1,
network 129 intercepts the packet and checks if the mobile user
device 121 is authorized to gain access to the Internet. If it is,
then the message is forwarded accordingly. If the mobile user
device is not authorized, then the packet is re-routed to a
predetermined redirection web server 139. Redirection web server
139 responds in Step 2 by transmitting a "Web Site Relocated"
message that points the mobile user device 121 to an authentication
web server 137 (this redirection ability is conventional to HTML, a
common language for encoding web pages). The mobile user's web
browser responds to the "Web Site Relocated" message by
automatically re-sending the HTTP request to authentication web
server 137 in Step 3. Again, network 129 intercepts the TCP SYN
packet, but upon recognizing that the target website is now the
authentication web server 137, the packet is forwarded without
alteration.
[0049] Thus, network 129 does not prohibit Internet access by
unauthorized users, it merely restricts it to a limited number of
predetermined websites. Internet access requests to a preauthorized
website, such as authentication web server 137, are permitted
access to the Internet, but all Internet requests to unauthorized
websites are automatically re-routed to redirection server website
139.
[0050] In Step 4, authentication web server 137 presents the mobile
user device 121 with an HTTP form page soliciting authentication
information from the mobile user. The user-supplied authentication
information may include a user ID and password, which the user
enters via his web browser. At this point, it should be noted that
although the mobile user ID has been given an IP address by network
129 in order to communicate within the network, the Internet packet
transmitted from the mobile user device 121 to authentication web
server 137 may not be relied upon to uniquely identify mobile user
device 121 because of the possible use of network address
translation by network 129. To overcome this limitation, the HTTP
form page transmitted to the mobile user device 121 includes an
embedded reserved field preceded by a unique client device ID
keyword EF1 provided by the authentication web server 137. The
reserved field may be located within the out-going data packet a
predetermined number of bytes away from the unique client device ID
keyword EF1. Alternatively, the reserved field may be immediately
preceded by the unique client device ID keyword EF1.
[0051] When the mobile user device 121 forwards its authentication
data to authentication web server 137 in Step 5, network 129
detects that a message packet is being sent to authentication web
server 137 and responds by inspecting the message packet to detect
the embedded reserved field. Since the message has come directly
from mobile client device 121, its unique hardware address in the
header of its message packet is still valid. Network 129 responds
by generating a new client device ID keyword EF2 based on the
unique hardware address of mobile client device 121, the current
session information, and the address information of network 129.
This address information will be dependent on the device on which
the present system is implemented. This new client device ID
keyword is inserted into the embedded reserved field and the
modified message is forwarded to the authentication web server 137
in Step 6.
[0052] Upon receiving the HTTP form page from user mobile device
121, authentication web server 137 parses the information in the
HTTP form page. Preferably, the information is parsed using a
backend CGI script. The authentication web server 137 forwards the
user-supplied information and the new client device ID keyword from
the embedded reserved field to a gate keeper server 135 in Step 7.
The gate keeper server may be accessed via the Internet, or may be
directly connected to the authentication web server 137.
Preferably, the information is transmitted from the authentication
web server 137 to the gate keeper server 135 along a secured
link.
[0053] It should be noted that server 125, redirection web server
139, authentication web server 137 and gate keeper server 135 need
not reside on separate machines, and one or more of these may be
co-resident on a machine. Further, these need not be servers in the
usual sense of the word and may instead be web pages, scripts,
applets or other routines capable of performing the attributed
functions. Additionally, the functionality of redirection web
server 139 need not be separate and may be integrated into the
network 129.
[0054] The gate keeper server 135 processes the received
authentication data information and checks if the user is
registered. If the mobile client has a legitimate account, then the
gate keeper server 135 decodes the new client device ID keyword
that is in the embedded reserved field to determine the hardware
address of the mobile user device 121. The gate keeper server 135
then sends an encrypted "unblock" message in Step 8 based on the
same client device ID keyword to network 129. As explained above,
the controlling device within network 129 on which the present
system is running had inserted the address information of mobile
user device 121 in the HTTP form page, therefore gate keeper 135
sends the "unblock" message directly to this controlling device.
Preferably, the "unblock" message is encrypted with the new client
device ID keyword. Alternatively, a third client device ID keyword
may be generated and used for the encryption process. It may
include the hardware address of the mobile client device 121, as
well as the Internet protocol address of the network 129.
[0055] Network 129 verifies the encrypted "unblock" message, and
then updates its internal access list to grant Internet services to
the mobile client device 121. All subsequent traffic from the
mobile client device 121 to the Internet are forwarded by network
129 unimpeded until either an allowed access time expires as
described in greater detail below, an explicit "Disable client
device" message is received, or the client device 121 disconnects
from network 129.
[0056] In the description of FIG. 6, the present invention is
described as a program routine running in network 129, but the
location of the program routine was not explicitly stated. The
present invention may be a program routine running in server 125,
router 127 or access point 123, or parsed to have its routines
distributed among all three.
[0057] Thus, all mobile users on network 129 are uniquely
identified and verified. It is then possible for network 129 to
charge a mobile user for access time on network 129. Alternatively,
since the mobile user is authenticated by the gate keeper server
135, it may be advantageous that the gate keeper server 135, or
another specialized server record the amount of time that mobile
user device 121 spends accessing the Internet 131 through network
129, and charge accordingly. In still an alternate embodiment, a
mobile user will have already paid in advance for a predetermined
amount of network access time as noted above. When a mobile user is
admitted access to a private network, such as network 129, the
amount of time paid in advance is transmitted to network 129, which
then disconnects mobile user 123 once the time has expired. Any
remaining time not used by mobile user device 123 may be forward to
the gate keeper server 135, or the corresponding specialized
server, and the remaining time on the user's account may be updated
accordingly.
[0058] An alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown in
FIG. 7. Elements in FIG. 7 similar to those of FIG. 6 have similar
reference characters and are described above. In the present
alternate embodiment, access points 105 and 111 have routing
capabilities for connecting to the Internet 131. Thus neither of
access points 105 or 111 require a separate hardwired network, such
as network 129 shown in FIG. 6, to implement the present
invention.
[0059] For illustrative purposes, wireless access point 105 is
shown located in a coffee shop and wireless access point 111 is
shown located in the waiting room of an automotive mechanic's shop.
Mobile users may then access the Internet 131 via wireless access
point 105 and any known device for establishing a node connection
to a network, such as a handheld computing device 101 or laptop
computer 103. In the present example, access point 105 is shown as
a wireless access device, but it may also provide hardwired
connections to client devices. Similarly, a mobile user may use
laptop computer 109 to access the Internet 131 via wireless access
point 111. In this embodiment, it may be preferable for gate keeper
server 135 to maintain a record of Internet access time by devices
101, 103 and 109, and then to send a summary report to the owners
of wireless access points 105 and 111.
[0060] The present invention has been described above in connection
with a preferred embodiment thereof, however, this has been done
for purposes of illustration only, and the invention is not so
limited. Indeed, variations of the invention will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art and also fall within the scope
of the invention.
* * * * *