Patent ID: 8555341

Claim:
A wall plate assembly having a first port adapted to be coupled to a device and a second port adapted to be coupled to a communications network, the wall plate assembly operable to perform a first tier of authentication by obtaining authentication information from a user and determining from the obtained authentication information whether the user should be granted or denied access to the network, the wall plate assembly operable when the determination indicates the user should be granted access to perform a second tier of authentication by providing endpoint location identification information associated with the wall plate assembly and the authentication information to the second port, and operable, responsive to an acknowledgement signal received via the second port that confirms the user should be granted access, to grant access to the network via the first port, and the wall plate assembly further operable when either the acknowledgement signal indicates the user should not be granted access or the determination indicates the user should be denied access to isolate the first port from the network.