Authentication, authorization, and accounting based on an automatically generated username

A method performed by a network element for authentication, authorization, and accounting based on a username, the method comprising:

• receiving a request at the network element from a client device for an Internet Protocol (IP) address, the request including an identifier that is not provided as the username and that is a Media Access Control (MAC) address, wherein the network element includes a processor and memory;
• transmitting a request to a RADIUS server, wherein the request includes as the username a subscriber identifier automatically generated by the network element based on the identifier, wherein the automatically generating includes at least adding characters to the identifier;
• receiving a response from the RADIUS server;
• if the request is an initial communication by the client device with the network element, redirecting the client device to a website to allow for a selection of a service from multiple services, wherein different contexts within the network element are associated with different services, wherein the context for the selected service is entered into a subscriber record that is accessible according to the username and that is stored in the RADIUS server;
• dynamically assigning to the client device from the context identified by the subscriber record an IP address that is not currently assigned from that context;
• establishing an active subscriber session for the client device;
• and
• causing an accounting update to reflect the active subscriber session.

A network element to cause authentication, authorization and accounting based on a username, the network element comprising:

• a traffic card including a port to be coupled to a client device to receive a request from the client device for an Internet Protocol (IP) address, the request including an identifier that is not provided as the username;
• a control card including a control engine with logic to,
• automatically generate the username based on the identifier;
• retrieve, based on the username automatically generated by the network element, a context for the client device from a record in a subscriber records database, wherein the context is associated with a service;
• dynamically assign to the client device from the context an IP address that is not currently assigned from the context;
• and
• cause an accounting update to reflect an active subscriber session based on the assigned IP address.

A network element to cause authentication, authorization and accounting based on a username, the network element comprising:

• a traffic card including a port to be coupled to a client device to receive a request from the client device for an Internet Protocol (IP) address, the request including an identifier that is not provided as the username and that is a Media Access Control (MAC) address;
• a control card including a control engine with logic to,
• transmit a request to a RADIUS server, wherein the request includes as the username a subscriber identifier automatically generated by the network element based on the identifier, wherein the automatic generation includes at least adding characters to the identifier;
• receive a response from the RADIUS server;
• if the request is an initial communication by the client device with the network element, redirect the client device to a website to allow for a selection of a service from multiple services, wherein different contexts within the network element are associated with the-different services, wherein the context for the selected service is entered into a subscriber record that is accessible according to the username and that is stored in the RADIUS server;
• dynamically assign to the client device from the context identified by the subscriber record an IP address that is not currently assigned from that context;
• establish an active subscriber session for the client device;
• and
• cause an accounting update to reflect the active subscriber session.