Patent ID: 6966004

Claim:
An apparatus for providing a single step log-on access for a subscriber of a computer network having a first area and a second area, said computer network including at least one Network Access Server (NAS) and at least one Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA) Server, said NAS providing access for the subscriber to said first area, said apparatus comprising: a Service Selection Gateway (SSG) Server providing access for the subscriber to the second area, said SSG Server connected between the NAS and the AAA Server, said SSG Server configured to: (1) receive an access-request packet from the NAS when the subscriber connects the NAS, (2) forward said access-request packet to the AAA Server, (3) receive an access-reply packet from the AAA Server in response to said access-request packet, (4) forward said access-reply packet to the NAS, and (5) process information in said access-reply packet for enabling said SSG Server to automatically log the subscriber onto said SSG Server when the subscriber logs onto the NAS.