Automatic discovery of controlling policy enforcement point in a policy push model

摘要

The present invention provides a method for performing automatic discovery of controlling policy enforcement points in a policy push computer network. The method involves a policy decision point sending a discover message toward an end point on a computer network; receiving a response from a policy enforcement point; reading a name and address from the received response; and sending a policy decision message to the name and address read from the response. The policy decision message is characterized by content suitable for being installed for a policy enforcement point. In an embodiment, the discover message sent includes a resource reservation protocol and a new policy enforcement point discover object. In another embodiment, the discover message sent causes the policy enforcement point to process the discover message. The policy decision point can receive notification that installation of the policy decision for the policy enforcement point failed.