Patent ID: 6910067

Claim:
A protocol gateway for limiting access to a data communications network to a predetermined number of VPN sessions belonging to a particular group, the protocol gateway comprising: a local database checker configured to, in response to a user's attempt to initiate a VPN session on the data communications network as a member of a particular group, check a local database to determine if the user's VPN session would exceed by a first predetermined number a corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group at the PoP or would exceed by a second predetermined number a corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group for the data communications network, said corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group at the PoP and said corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group for the data communications network defined in said local database; a VPN session rejector configured to reject said user's attempt to initiate a VPN session if said user's log in would exceed by a first predetermined number said corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group at the PoP or would exceed by a second predetermined number a corresponding maximum number of VPN sessions associated with said particular group for the data communications network; and a VPN session count incrementer associated with the local database and the user's group and responsive to the user's initiation of a VPN session.