Patent ID: 7530112

Claim:
A method comprising: populating an access control list with a destination user group identifier, wherein said populating is performed by a network device and comprises sending a request to another network device, and receiving a response from said another network device, said response comprises said destination user group identifier, said access control list is a role-based access control list, said destination user group identifier identifies a destination user group of a destination, said access control list comprises a source user group field configured to store a source user group identifier and a destination user group field configured to store a destination user group identifier, said source user group comprises a plurality of source network devices, said source user group is assigned to said source based on a role of said source, said destination user group comprises a plurality of destination network devices, said destination user group is assigned to said destination based on a role of said destination, and said access control list is configured to allow said source user group identifier and said destination user group identifier to be compared.