| 摘要 |
A monitoring node is disposed in a data network for monitoring network traffic. As data packets are received by the monitoring node, the monitoring node associates particular users with the data packet by reference to authentication data stored in the monitoring node. The authentication data is received from network authentication sources, and includes an identification of a user and a network address associated with the identified user. The monitoring node, upon receipt of a data packet, compares the network address in the data packet with the network addresses stored as authentication data in order to associate a particular user with the data packet. The monitoring node may also associate a service associated with the data packet. The monitoring node provides usage data to a database which stores aggregate user usage data. The disclosed technique is advantageous in various network applications such as billing, firewalls, gateways, prepaid services, network policy enforcement, and quality of service guarantees. |
