Patent ID: 8356176
Filing Date: 2013-01-15
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for authenticating a peer device onto a network having an authenticator and an authentication server, the authentication server supporting modifications to Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), the network being accessible through an access point associated with the authenticator, the method including steps of: exchanging EAP-specific authentication messages between the peer device and the authentication server via the authenticator; generating keying material in the peer device; generating said keying material and an associated key lifetime in the authentication server, and communicating said keying material and said associated key lifetime from the authentication server to the authenticator; communicating an EAP Success packet from the authenticator to the peer device following the exchange of EAP-specific authentication messages, wherein the EAP Success packet contains said associated key lifetime, wherein the EAP Success packet is modified to include a code field and a data field, said code field containing a success indicator and said data field containing said associated key lifetime; completing authentication to grant the peer device unblocked access to the network; prior to expiration of the associated key lifetime, the peer device initiating a further EAP authentication exchange with the server to initiate re-authentication of the peer device and to generate new keying material and a new associated key lifetime; and detecting an active media session on the peer device, waiting for termination of the active media session, and in response to said termination, conducting a Secure Association Protocol prior to expiration of the associated key lifetime to complete the re-authentication.