Patent Publication Number: US-8533814-B2

Title: Networked physical security access control system and method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/852,612 filed Sep. 10, 2007. The entire disclosure of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/852,612 is considered part of the disclosure of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The subject invention relates generally to a networked physical security access control system and a method of implementing the same, and, more specifically to a distributed networked physical security access control system and method of implementing the same. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Security access control systems limit access, for example to buildings, areas, mantraps, and doors using credential readers and electric locking mechanisms in conjunction with policies and credentials stored in a central repository. When a credential is presented to the reader, the system grants or denies access based on current policies and the validity and authorization of the credential. Manufacturers deploy these products on a variety of computer servers and workstations. Due to the increased sophistication of these systems over the years, their proprietary nature and wide range of variables including servers, operating system software, and networking, the systems require highly trained and experienced technicians to install, deploy, and maintain. 
     In addition, many companies have through acquisitions or organic growth increased the number of physical facilities requiring a method to share information with other facilities without requiring constant communication with any one server. Distributed systems require higher levels of software integration and network support previously not required in a traditional single server based deployment increasing training and ongoing support costs. An example of such a distributed security access control system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,588 to Marchoili et al. 
     The Marchoili et al. patent discloses a security access control system including a master database and a plurality of regional databases each disclosed in a different region. The master database is in communication with each of the regional databases. Each regional database periodically uploads to the master database any changes in the access control information of the regional database, and the master database periodically downloads from the master database to each regional database any changes in the access control information made by other regions. The master database is maintained identical to the regional databases. 
     In a system such as that disclosed by the Marchoili et al. patent, the master database is continuously uploading and downloading any changes in access control information. This can be a very costly process in such a large system. Further, the physical security system and its increasing reliance on organization&#39;s information technology infrastructure have caused information technology departments to look for ways to reduce time to deploy these systems, minimize impact on information technology resources, and reduce maintenance costs. This requires standard methods for these systems to be deployed and maintained by an organization&#39;s information technology department. Also, as information technology deploys network security systems, the opportunity to integrate physical security into these commercial off the shelf products using open standard methods provides additional methods to reduce maintenance costs. An example of such a system is Brivo&#39;s econtrol Online Access Control System. 
     Brivo&#39;s system discloses a networked physical security access control system for controlling a security access device comprising a primary network including a user interface being a web browser. A centrally located access server appliance is disposed in communication with the primary network. The access server appliance includes an appliance management module for configuring the access server appliance to a user specified security configuration. The access server appliance provides security to a plurality of remote sites. A method for implementing a networked physical security access control system such as that disclosed by Brivo generally includes the steps of mounting an access server appliance including an appliance management module into a computer system, communicating the access server appliance with a primary network including a user interface, and configuring the appliance management module to a user specified security configuration. 
     While the Brivo system provides a web-hosted networked physical security access control system, it still relies on a single, central host access server appliance to provide a user specified security configuration to multiple remote sites. There remains the need for a more effective and cost efficient distributed networked physical security access control system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES 
     The present invention provides a networked physical security access control system improved by including a plurality of access server appliances in communication with a primary network with the access server appliances being in peer-to-peer communication on the primary network to bridge the access server appliances for providing consistency in each of the access server appliances. 
     The invention also provides an improved method of implementing a networked physical security access control system by communicating a plurality of access server appliances with the primary network and replicating the appliance management module of an accessed access server appliance in each of the other access server appliances through peer-to-peer communication on the primary network to maintain consistency in the access server appliances in response to configuring the appliance management module of the accessed access server appliance to a user specified security configuration. 
     The invention provides a distributed networked physical security access control system and a method of implementing the same while leveraging the existing information technology infrastructure and eliminating the requirement of any server or client software to be installed on any computer system. The system communicates with access controllers which in turn communicate with the security access devices. 
     The invention maintains a user specified security configuration redundantly across all access server appliances using peer-to-peer communication to maintain consistency and high availability without requiring connectivity to a central server. In addition, the invention maintains event and transaction logs redundantly across all access server appliances. The minoring of data supports high availability and high performance by dividing the workload across multiple access server appliances. Events and transactions may also be sent to other systems for processing, review and corrective action. 
     The invention also provides for a distributed credential database and a distributed policy database across all access server appliances providing multiple locations the ability to access, control, and monitor buildings, areas, and doors without requiring connectivity to a central server. The distributed databases use peer-to-peer communication and directory services to maintain consistency and high availability using industry standard technology. 
     The invention provides the ability to add, modify, and remove access control policies that govern decision making, reporting, input operations, output operations, and administrative tasks. All modifications are replicated to all other access server appliances to maintain the most up to date policies across the entire system. 
     The invention serves as a network router and firewall to access controllers and associated hardware preventing attackers from gaining access to devices directly attached to physical assets. 
     The invention provides a switchover capability such that should a primary access appliance fail, its network interfaces automatically switch to a backup appliance which will continue to operate the security access devices. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic of a networked physical security access control system; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic of an access server appliance including a primary server appliance and a backup server appliance; and 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary flow chart of a method for implementing a networked physical security access control system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a networked physical security access control system  20  for controlling a security access device  22  is shown generally in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 1 , the security access device  22  is shown as a door, however, those skilled in the art understand that in additional embodiments of the networked physical security access control system  20  the security access device  22  includes any access device commonly known in the art. 
     The system  20  includes a primary network  24  including a primary credential directory  26  and a primary policy directory  28 . The primary network  24  can be a corporate network, a remote network, a wide area network such as the Internet, or any type of network commonly known in the art. The primary network  24  includes a user interface  30  generally being a web browser such as, but not limited to, Internet Explorer or Firefox. 
     The system  20  includes a plurality of access server appliances  32 . The access server appliances  32  are generally 1U rackmount computer systems. Each access server appliance  32  generally handles from one to fifteen hundred security access devices  22  depending on the processing load and response required at the location. Each access server appliance  32  includes a plurality of network interfaces  34 . The network interfaces  34  are generally one gigabyte Ethernet interfaces. 
     In an embodiment of the system  20 , a plurality of pairs of network connections  36  enables each access server appliance  32  to communicate with the primary network  24 . Each pair of network connections  36  is generally in communication with a pair of the network interfaces  34  of one of the access server appliances  32  and the primary network  24  to define a primary connection and a backup connection between each of the access server appliances  32  and the primary network  24 . In such an embodiment, the system  20  provides two connections between each access server appliance  32  and the primary network  24  in case one of the network connections  36  should fail. In an alternative embodiment of the system  20 , a single network connection  36  is provided between each access server appliance  32  and the primary network  24 . 
     Each access server appliance  32  includes a local credential directory  38  for storing access control information and a local policy directory  40  for storing security access policies. At least one of the access server appliances  32  accesses the primary credential directory  26  on the primary network  24  and imports and stores the information in its local credential directory  38 . At least one of the access server appliances  32  also accesses the primary policy directory  28  on the primary network  24  and imports and stores the information in its local policy directory  40 . 
     Each access server appliance  32  includes a credential and policy module  42  for synchronizing its local credential directory  38  with the primary credential directory  26  and for synchronizing its local policy directory  40  with the primary policy directory  28 . In the preferred embodiment, the local credential directory  38  and the local policy directory  40  are lightweight directory access protocol directories. This allows the local credential directory  38  and the local policy directory  40  to replicate using standard information technology tools and applications. 
     Each access server appliance  32  also includes an appliance management module  44 , a situation management module  46 , and an information technology management module  48 . The appliance management module  44  configures the access server appliance  32  to a user specified security configuration and configures the access server appliance  32  to manage the credential and policy module  42 . The situation management module  46  configures a third party physical security situation management system to control the security access equipment. The information technology management module  48  generally monitors the access server appliances  32  and the system  20 . 
     The access server appliances  32  are in peer-to-peer communication on the primary network  24  to bridge the access server appliances  32  for providing consistency in each of the access server appliances  32 . Each access server appliance  32  communicates with the other access server appliances  32  using the primary network  24 . This communication may include, but is not limited to, the exchange of the following types of data: credential information not obtained from the credential and policy module  42 ; access control policies including time schedules, permissions, and access levels; complete listings of all the security access devices  22 , input points, output points; transactions by the system  20 ; and control information relating to the operation of the access server appliances  32 . All communications between the access server appliances  32  preferably use secure sockets layer to encrypt all information transmitted. 
     In an embodiment of the system  20  as shown in  FIG. 2 , each access server appliance  32  includes a primary server appliance  50  and a backup server appliance  52 . The backup server appliance  52  is configured to minor the primary server appliance  50  to provide redundancy, should one appliance cease to function. This provides increased availability in maintaining online status and reporting events to the information technology management department. The backup server appliance  52  maintains not only its local database, but a synchronized copy of the database of the primary server appliance  50 . If the primary server appliance  50  should fail, the backup server appliance  52  has the information necessary to communicate with the attached security hardware. 
     The backup server appliance  52  will take over processing of any signals received from or transmitted to the attached security hardware. When the primary server appliance  50  has been restored to service, the primary server  50  appliance will automatically switch back to receiving and processing signals from the attached security hardware. In addition, before the primary server appliance  50  resumes control, it will replicate the local database of the backup server appliance  52 . 
     In such an embodiment of the system  20 , it is preferable to equip the primary server appliance  50  and the backup server appliance  52  with a hardware watchdog timer. The timer is programmed with a number and the primary server appliance  50  and the backup server appliance  52  each tick down the timer. The countdown preferably does not require any software to execute. By having the countdown in hardware, the system  20  eliminates any software issue from interfering with the watchdog. The primary server appliance  50  and the backup server appliance  52  must reset their respective timers to their initial values. If either timer reaches zero, a set of hardware programmed actions will occur. 
     At least one access controller  54  is in communication with one of the network interfaces  34  of one of the access server appliances  32 ; however, as many as five hundred twelve access controllers  54  may be in communication with each access server appliance  32 . One skilled in the art will appreciate that the number of access controllers  54  in communication with each access server appliance  32  may exceed five hundred twelve as that number relates to the technical capabilities of the exemplary embodiment and that number does not impact or limit the novelty of the invention. Access controllers  54  preferably communicate with the access server appliances  32  using the TCP/IP networking protocol. 
     Each access controller  54  receives a unique IP address and subnet assignment, and the access server appliances  32  are generally configured to provide networking services such as DHCP, firewall rule sets, routing services, network access control, and intrusion detection. The information technology management module  48  of each access server appliance  32  is generally configured to control the security access device with the access controller being in communication with the security access device. 
     A device controller  56  is in communication with the access controller  54  for communicating access requests from the device controller  56  to the access controller  54  and for communicating access decisions from the access controller  54  to the device controller  56  to manually control the security access device  22 . In an alternative embodiment of the system  20 , the device controller  56  can communicate directly with the access server appliance  32  without requiring an access controller  54 . In such an embodiment, the device controller  56  is in communication with one of the access server appliances  32 . In an exemplary embodiment, as many as thirty-two device controllers  56  can be in communication with one of the access server appliances  32 . One skilled in the art will appreciate that the number of device controllers  56  in communication with each access server appliance  32  may exceed thirty-two as that number relates to the technical capabilities of the exemplary embodiment and that number does not impact or limit the novelty of the invention. A device controller  56  preferably uses RS-485 or TCP/IP communication. In the embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIG. 1 , the device controller  56  is shown controlling a security access device  22  which is a door. However, those skilled in the art should appreciate the device controller  56  can also be used to control alternative security access devices  22  and that the device controller  56  is not limited to controlling a door. 
     A credential reader  58  is in communication with the device controller  56  for sending credentials to the device controller  56 . The credential reader  58  can be, but is not limited to, a personal identification number keypad, a card reader, or a biometric device. Personnel present their credentials to the credential reader  58 , and the credentials are sent to the device controller  56 . The device controller  56  interprets the credentials and outputs the credentials to the access controller  54  for an access decision. 
     In an embodiment of the system  20 , a monitor point  60  is in communication with the device controller  56  for sending the status of the security access device  22  to the device controller  56 . In another embodiment of the system  20 , an alarm relay  62  is in communication with the device controller  56  for sending and receiving an alarm status of the security access device  22  to the device controller  56 . 
     A method for implementing a networked physical security access control system  20  with a security access device  22  is provided for a networked physical security access control system  20  including a plurality of access server appliances  32 , an access controller  54 , a device controller  56 , a credential reader  58 , a monitor point  60 , and an alarm relay  62 . An exemplary embodiment of such a method is shown in  FIG. 3 . The method is generally for implementing the networked physical security access control system  20  on a primary network  24  including a primary policy directory  28 , a primary credential directory  26 , and a user interface  30 . Each access server appliance  32  includes an appliance management module  44 , a situation management module  46 , an information technology management module  48 , a credential and policy module  42 , a local credential directory  38 , a local policy directory  40 , and a plurality of network connections  36 . 
     The method comprises the steps of rack mounting the plurality of access server appliances  32  into a plurality of computer systems. ( 66 ) A pair of the network connections  36  communicates each access server appliance  32  with the primary network  24 . ( 68 ) 
     The access controller  54  is communicated with one of the access server appliances  32 . ( 70 ) As the access controller  54  is plugged into the access server appliance  32 , the access server appliance  32  notes the connectivity and begins processing packets received on the network interfaces  34  of the access server appliance  32 . A transaction is also generated as a network interface  34  changes online status. The access server appliance  32  proceeds to check connectivity with access controllers  54 , and as each access controller  54  comes online, the appropriate transactions are generated and the access server appliance  32  may begin communicating with the access controller  54  and its connected hardware. 
     The method also generally includes the step of communicating the device controller  56  with the access controller  54  for sending access requests to the access controller  54  and for receiving access decisions from the access controller  54  to manually control the security access device  22 . ( 72 ) The device controller  56  transmits credential information and changes of state to the access controller  54 . The access controller  54  receives the information, processes the information, and transmits commands back to the device controller  56  to control the operation of the input and output hardware. 
     The credential reader  58  is generally communicated with the device controller  56  for sending credentials to the device controller  56 , and the monitor point  60  is generally communicated with the device controller  56  for sending the status of the security access device  22  to the device controller  56 . ( 74 ) The alarm relay  62  is also generally communicated with the device controller  56 . ( 76 ) Those skilled in the art should appreciate that additional security hardware can be used in addition to, or in place of, the above mentioned hardware. Every facility has specific requirements and will require a different set of basic security hardware. 
     The method further includes the step of accessing an appliance management module  44  of one of the access server appliances  32  via the user interface  30 . ( 78 ) After accessing the appliance management module  44 , a user configures the appliance management module  44  to a user specified security configuration. ( 80 ) The appliance management module  44  is configured for appliance networking, redundancy options, log management, remote management, status information and reporting, credential/policy hosts and event monitoring services. The appliance management module  44  also provides settings to backup the local database to other access server appliances  32  or a primary network  24  subsystem. Should an access controller  54  fail, the local credential directory  38  and the local policy directory  40  can be retrieved from the backup and restored for operation. 
     A user also configures the credential and policy module  42  with the appliance management module  44  to synchronize the local credential directory  38  with the primary credential directory  26  on the primary network  24  and to synchronize the local policy directory  40  with the primary policy directory  28  on the primary network  24 . ( 82 ) Utilizing the user interface  30 , a user configures the credential and policy module  42  of the access server appliance  32  using the appliance management module  44  to establish a connection to the primary credential directory  26  and the primary policy directory  28  on the primary network  24 . When configuring the credential and policy module  42 , a user may include the primary credential directory name, the primary policy directory name, and the required credentials to locate and gain access to the primary credential and policy modules  26 ,  28  on the primary network  24 . Once the connection parameters have been programmed, the user describes to the access server appliance  32 , using the appliance management module  44 , which fields to import and store in the local credential directory  38  and the local policy directory  40 . The user then configures the automatic synchronization from the primary credential directory  26  and the primary policy directory  28  to keep the access server appliance  32  up to date as modifications are made to the primary credential directory  26  and the primary policy directory  28 . Once these parameters are stored in the access server appliance  32 , the user preferably has the option of pushing them to the other access server appliances  32  on the primary network  24 . Each appliance is generally responsible for its own synchronization. This eliminates a single point of failure should any one access server appliance  32  cease to function. 
     The policies generally include typical information technology policies such as remote access permissions, local network activation and others generally known in the art. In addition, the user may configure policies in the access server appliance  32  to notify the information technology infrastructure of access events. The infrastructure may include single sign-on servers, usage requirements or locale information. Also, the appliance management module  44  provides the user the ability to manage and assign roles for access control purposes. The user assigns each set of security access devices  22  a specific role which is allowed to access the set of security access devices  22  at a specified time. Each credential may be assigned any number of roles which implicitly link accessible security access devices  22  and policies as may be assigned to the role. Other decision attributes may also be programmed depending on the various requirements of the facility. Policies not assigned may be programmed to enforce various rules, schedules and conditions required for access to be granted. Also, the appliance management module  44  provides the ability to review individual credentials and run reports. 
     The local credential directory  38  of the access server appliance  32  synchronizes with the primary credential directory  26  on the primary network  24 , ( 84 ) and the local policy directory  40  of the access server appliances  32  synchronizes with the primary policy directory  28  on the primary network  24  in response to the configuration of the credential and policy module  42  of the access server appliance  32 . ( 86 ) The local credential directory  38  and the local policy directory  40  preferably communicate with the primary credential directory  26  and the primary policy directory  28  respectively on the primary network  24  using a variety of protocols dependent on the type of directories. The access server appliance  32  preferably supports LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), MICROSOFT® and ORACLE® directory access methods, however, those skilled in the art appreciate that the access server appliance  32  supports all databases known in the art. Using LDAP, the access server appliance  32  supports the following directories: MICROSOFT® Active Directory; MICROSOFT® Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM); OpenLDAP; IBM® Tivioli Directory, CA eSecure directory, ORACLE® Virtual Directory; and NOVELL® eDirectory. 
     The method includes the steps of accessing a situation management module  46  of one of the access server appliances  32  with the user interface  30 , ( 88 ) and configuring the situation management module  46  to allow third party physical security situation management systems to control the security access equipment. ( 90 ) The situation management module  46  provides a comprehensive set of web services allowing third party physical security situation management (PSIM) systems to command and control any of the access control equipment  62  attached to any access server appliance  32 . The web services provide the following methods to support the PSIM mission: connect to the access server appliance  32  using mutually agreed upon authentication; 
     transmit events to the PSIM based on the authorization of the user including any event filters and data restrictions; receive commands from the PSIM to control access control hardware; adjust credential access privileges and monitor muster areas, guard tours, or card traces. The PSIM may connect to any access server appliance  32  and have visibility into the entire system  20 . It need not connect to each access server appliance  32  or track which access server appliance  32  contains which access control hardware. The PSIM provides the overall situational awareness view while aggregating information from a variety of sources including the access server appliances  32 . 
     The method also includes the steps of accessing an information technology management module  48  of one of the access server appliances  32  via the user interface  30 , ( 92 ) and configuring the information technology management module  48  with parameters for monitoring the access server appliances  32  and the system  20 . ( 94 ) The information technology management module  48  maintains all parameters required to allow each access server appliance  32  to be remotely monitored and updated using an industry standard SNMP software package such as, but not limited to, HP, OpenView, IBM Tivoli, or Microsoft Systems Center. The information technology management module  48  may be configured to send all transactions to the information technology reporting system  20  and to include all access server appliance  32  notifications as well as all access control activity. This integrated reporting provides a complete picture of all logical and physical access activity of an enterprise. The information technology management module  48  ties the access server appliances  32  directly to the network fabric allowing information technology professionals to manage the system  20  as any other network device without requiring extensive training or appliance specific specialized skills The system  20  provides an extensive enhanced set of capabilities to a standard commercial off the shelf IT management application using SNMP. The system  20  includes a Management Information Base (MIB) to be used with any SNMP management console. Some of these capabilities include monitoring each access server appliance  32  status including memory and disk usage, CPU load, network activity and other network statistics. Using the MIB, the user has the ability to set various parameters from the SNMP management console without necessarily using the web based application described earlier. Also, the system  20  has the ability to transmit events such as appliance events, access control activity, and network activity directly to an information technology management system  20  using industry standard logging capabilities. 
     The method also includes the step of configuring the information technology management module  48  of one of the access server appliances  32  to maintain event and transaction logs. ( 94 ) As events are generated, the access controller  54  uploads these events to the access server appliance  32 . In an embodiment of the system  20 , the user configures the access server appliance  32  to store events locally if unable to upload event information to the information technology system  20 . In another embodiment of the system  20 , the access server appliance  32  automatically stores event information locally on permanent storage and also uploads them to the information technology system  20 . If stored in the access server appliance  32 , the access server appliance  32  also forwards the events to the other access server appliances  32  for redundancy and increased search performance. 
     As commands are received from the security access devices  22  or as the access server appliance  32  deems necessary, commands are sent from the access server appliance  32  to the access controller  54  to update its local database of credentials, access policies, and reference information to allow it to perform access control decision making locally without any assistance from the access server appliance  32 . These commands may generate additional transactions which will be reported back to the access server appliance  32 . 
     The method also includes the step of configuring the information technology management module  48  of one of the access server appliances  32  for establishing a private subnet  64 . ( 94 ) The information technology management module  48  is generally configured to provide networking services such as DHCP, firewall rule sets, routing services, network access control, and intrusion detection. The method also includes the step of placing one of the access controllers  54  on the private subnet  64  to provide routing services and firewall protection. Each access controller  54  generally receives a unique IP address and subnet assignment. 
     The information technology management module  48  is configured to determine the signals transmitted between the primary network  24  and the private subnet  64 . ( 94 ) The information technology management module  48  applies inbound traffic firewall restrictions on the private subnet  64  interface, as all communication initiates from the access server appliance  32  with no incoming traffic from the access controllers  54 . The operator has the option to re-configure the firewall if non-access control devices reside on the private subnet  64 . The access server appliance  32  has several safeguards to prevent unauthorized network devices from obtaining a DHCIP address or being able to use a static IP address and communicate with the access controllers  54 . The access server appliance  32  supports the use of VLANS to segregate traffic and communicate only with access controllers  54  approved by the primary network  24 . The information technology management module  48  can also filter which MAC addresses are assigned dynamic addresses. The information technology management module  48  may be configured to deny addresses to unknown devices or any device put in a “do not assign” list. As devices are assigned addresses, a transaction is generated indicating which access controller  54  asked for address, date/time, and which access server appliance  32  serviced the request. 
     The method further includes the step of configuring the information technology management module  48  with parameters for controlling the device controller  56  with the access controller  54 . ( 94 ) The information technology management module  48  maintains all parameters necessary to manage all doors, input points and output points. This includes access and device controller  54 ,  56  setup, door operation programming, interlocking input/output programming, firmware upgrades and the ability to manually manipulate all configured hardware. The user also defines schedules for sending updates to each of its assigned access controllers  54 . Also, the information technology management module  48  provides a real time status screen indicating status of all doors, input points, output points, access controllers  54  and device controllers  56   
     The method also includes the steps of replicating the local policy directory  40  of an accessed access server appliance  32  in each of the other access server appliances  32  through peer-to-peer communication on the primary network  24  to maintain consistency in the access server appliances  32  in response to synchronizing the local policy directory  40  of the accessed access server appliance  32  with the primary policy directory  28 . ( 96 ) The method also includes the step of replicating the local credential directory  38  of an accessed access server appliance  32  in each of the other access server appliances  32  through peer-to-peer communication on the primary network  24  to maintain consistency in the access server appliances  32  in response to synchronizing the local credential directory  38  of the accessed access server appliance  32  with the primary credential directory  26 . ( 98 ) 
     The method also includes the step of replicating the appliance management module  44 , the credential and policy module  42 , the situation management module  46 , and the information technology management module  48  of the accessed access server appliance  32  in each of the other access server appliances  32  through peer-to-peer communication on the primary network  24  to maintain consistency in the access server appliances  32  after one of the modules  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48  is configured. ( 100 ) In an embodiment of the system  20 , all of the modules  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48  of the accessed access server appliance  32  are replicated in the rest of the access server appliances  32  after a module is configured. In an alternative embodiment, only the module that is configured is replicated in the other access server appliances  32 . 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. These antecedent recitations should be interpreted to cover any combination in which the inventive novelty exercises its utility.