Patent ID: 6430619
Filing Date: 2002-08-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method for limiting the number of VPN sessions raised by users belonging to a particular group in a data communications network to a predetermined number, said method comprising:maintaining a central database including group identifications, corresponding network-wide maximum numbers of VPN sessions for each group, and corresponding current network wide VPN session counts for each group; maintaining a local database associated with a particular PoP of the data communications network, said database being part of a set of distributed databases and including group identifications, corresponding maximum numbers of VPN sessions for each group at the PoP, and corresponding current VPN session counts for each group at the PoP; responding to a user's attempt to initiate a VPN session on the data communications network as a member of a particular group by checking the central database to determine if the user's VPN session would exceed by a first predetermined number said corresponding network-wide maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group; rejecting said user's attempt to initiate a VPN session if said user's log in would exceed by said first predetermined number said corresponding network-wide maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group; responding to a user's attempt to initiate a VPN session on the data communications network as a member of a particular group by checking the local database to determine if the user's VPN session would exceed by a second predetermined number said corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group at the PoP; and rejecting said user's attempt to initiate a VPN session if said user's VPN session would exceed by a second predetermined number said corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group.