Importance

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Abstract

Controlling a user's usage of network resources, after the user has been authenticated, without using any network resources beyond the user's entry point to the network. A plurality of users may be connected to an entry point of a network of a network device by a shared transmission medium. Each users' usage of network resources is controlled, after such user has been authenticated, without using any network resources beyond such user's entry point to the network. For each one or more users, packet rules may be provisioned to the user's entry point to the network, where such entry point may be shared with other users. The packet rules may be applied to each packet received from the user before any network resources beyond the entry point are used. These packet rules may be associated with an identity of the user and then provisioned to the user's entry point in response to the user being authenticated. If a plurality of users are connected to an entry point by a shared transmission medium, packet rules associated with the users may be provisioned to the entry point and applied to packets received from the users before any network resources beyond the entry point are used. Such packet rules may be provisioned to a number of network entry devices and may serve as a distributed firewall for users of a network, as opposed to a centralized firewall. An entry port module of a network entry device may be configured based on an identity of one or more users as a result of the authentication of the one or more users, respectively, and each packet received from each user may be examined to control usage of network resources by the user.

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First Claim