RADIUS SESSION LIMIT PER SERVICE TYPE

1 . A method performed by a policy server in a communication network comprising:

receiving an access request message including a vendor class identifier describing a device requesting network access;

determining a service type based on the vendor class identifier;

determining whether adding an additional session exceeds a limit for the service type; and

performing a management action responsive to the additional session exceeding the limit for the service type.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the management action comprises rejecting the additional session.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the management action further comprises sending a termination request to a service router.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the management action comprises charging an overage fee for the additional session.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vendor class identifier is a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) option 60 .

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of determining a service type based on the vendor class identifier comprises comparing the vendor class identifier to predefined identifiers.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising adding an additional vendor class identifier to the predefined identifiers.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the service type is one of: a data session, a voice session, and a video session.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether adding an additional session exceeds a limit for the service type comprises:

determining a current session count for the service type;

determining a session limit for the service type; and

determining whether the current session count is greater than or equal to the session limit.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising configuring a subscriber profile with a session limit for a service type.

11 . A policy server in a communication network comprising a processor, the policy server configured to:

receive an access request message including a vendor class identifier describing a device requesting network access;

determine a service type based on the vendor class identifier;

determine whether adding an additional session exceeds a subscriber limit for the service type; and

perform a management action responsive to the additional session exceeding the limit for the service type.

12 . The policy server of claim 11 , wherein the management action comprises rejecting the additional session.

13 . The policy server of claim 12 , wherein the management action further comprises sending a termination request to a service router.

14 . The policy server of claim 11 , wherein the management action comprises charging an overage fee for the additional session.

15 . The policy server of claim 11 , wherein the vendor class identifier is a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) option 60 .

16 . The policy server of claim 15 , wherein the policy server is configured to compare the vendor class identifier to predefined identifiers.

17 . The policy server of claim 16 , wherein the policy server is further configured to add an additional vendor class identifier to the predefined identifiers.

18 . The policy server of claim 11 , wherein the service type is one of a data session, a voice session, and a video session.

19 . The policy server of claim 11 wherein the policy server is further configured to:

determine a current session count for the service type;

determine a session limit for the service type; and

determine whether the current session count is greater than or equal to the session limit.

20 . The policy server of claim 11 , wherein the policy server further comprises a machine-readable storage medium configured to store a subscriber profile including a session limit for a service type.