Patent Document ID: 7855972
Application ID: 10071228

Base Claim:
1. A method of controlling usage of network resources on a communications network based on the identity of an authenticated user, the method comprising acts of: creating, with a relationship management module, one or more packet rules for use on one or more network devices of the communications network, each rule including a condition and action to be taken as part of providing a service of the communications network if a packet received at a device satisfies the condition, wherein the one or more packet rules are defined to examine any portion of a packet; storing the one or more packet rules in the communications network; creating, with the relationship management module, one or more role abstractions, each role abstraction representing a role of a user with respect to the communications network, and each role abstraction capable of being assigned a set of one or more service abstractions to be provided to the user associated with the represented role; creating, with the relationship management module, the one or more service abstractions, each service abstraction representing a communications network service to be provided to users of the communications network, each service abstraction including a named set of one or more of the packet rules that, in combination, provide the represented communications network service; storing the one or more service abstractions in the communications network; storing the one or more role abstractions in the communications network; associating, with the relationship management module, the one or more role abstractions with the identity of the authenticated user of the communications network; and in response to receipt of a packet at any of the network devices from the authenticated user, using, by any of the network devices, the one or more service abstractions associated with the identity of the authenticated user to control usage of network resources on the communications network, the using including applying the packet rules in the one or more service abstractions to the packet.

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Claim 5:
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising an act of: configuring a network device of the communications network with one or more packet rules according to one of the role abstractions.