Internet Engineering Task Force                     Mark A. Beadles
     INTERNET-DRAFT                           WorldCom Advanced Networks
     Category: Informational
     <draft-beadles-nas-00.txt>
     7 August 1998
     
     
                           The Network Access Server
     
     
     1.  Status of this Memo
     
     
     This document is an Internet-Draft.  Internet-Drafts are working docu-
     ments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF),  its  areas,  and
     its  working groups.  Note that other groups may also distribute work-
     ing documents as Internet-Drafts.
     
     Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six  months
     and  may  be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
     time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference   mate-
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     To  learn  the  current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the
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     The  distribution  of  this memo is unlimited.  It is filed as <draft-
     beadles-nas-00.txt> and expires February 7, 1999. Please send comments
     to the author.
     
     
     2.  Abstract
     
     
     The  Network Access Server is the initial entry point to a network for
     the majority of users of network services.  It is the first device  in
     the  network to provide services to an end user, and acts as a gateway
     for all further services.  As such, its importance to users  and  ser-
     vice  providers alike is paramount.  However, the concept of a Network
     Access Server has grown up  over  the  years  without  being  formally
     defined.   This  document  offers  a framework for the definition of a
     modern Network Access Server.
     
     
     
     3.  Definition of a Network Access Server
     
     
     A Network Access Server is a device which sits on the edge of  a  net-
     work,  and provides access to services on that network in a controlled
     fashion, based on the identity of the user of the network services  in
     question.  Examples of a network access server include:
     
     
     
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     INTERNET-DRAFT                                           7 August 1998
     
     
          A text-mode terminal server.
     
          A remote access server which provides access to a private network
          via attached modems which are directly dialed by the user.
     
          A tunneling server which sits at the border of a  protected  net-
          work, and acts as a gateway for users to enter the protected net-
          work from the Internet.
     
          A shared commercial dial access server operated by a Network Ser-
          vice  Provider,  where incoming users connect via modems operated
          by a Telephone Service Provider, and access is provided  to  many
          dissimilar private and public networks.
     
     
     Note  that  there are many things that a Network Access Server is not.
     A NAS is not simply a router, although it will typically include rout-
     ing  functionality.   A  NAS  is not necessarily a dial access server,
     although dial access is one common means of network access.
     
     A NAS is the first device in the network to provide services to an end
     user, and acts as a gateway for all further services.  It is the point
     at which users are authenticated, access policy is  enforced,  network
     services  are  authorized, network usage is audited, and resource con-
     sumption is tracked.  That is, a NAS acts as the enforcement point for
     network AAAA (authentication, authorization, accounting, and auditing)
     services.  A NAS is typically the first place in a network where secu-
     rity measures may be implemented.
     
     
     
     
     4.  Interested parties
     
     
     The following are examples of parties who are concerned with the oper-
     ation of Network Access Servers.  This list is by no means exhaustive.
     
          Network  Service  Providers  (NSPs) who operate and manage NAS's,
          AAAA servers, policy servers, and networks; and who provide  net-
          work services to end users.
     
          End  users  who  gain access to their private and public networks
          through NAS's.
     
          Businesses and other entities who operate NAS's for their  users'
          public and private network access, or who outsource the operation
          and management of NAS's to a NSP.
     
          Telephone Service Providers (TSPs) who operate and manage  modems
          and telephony networks; and who provide telephony services to end
          users, NSPs, and businesses.
     
          Manufacturers of NAS's, AAAA  servers,  policy  servers,  modems,
     
     
     
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     INTERNET-DRAFT                                           7 August 1998
     
     
          etc.
     
     
     
     
     5.  Reference Model of a NAS
     
     
     For  reference  in  the  following discussion, a diagram of a NAS, its
     dependencies, and its interfaces is  given  below.   This  diagram  is
     intended  as  an abstraction of a NAS as a reference model, and is not
     intended to represent any particular NAS implementation.
     
                               Users
                           v v v v v v v
                           | | PSTN  | |
                           | |  or   | |
                           |encapsulated
                        +-----------------+
                        |    (Modems)     |
                        +-----------------+
                           | | | | | | |
                           | | | | | | |
                           | | | | | | |
                 +--+----------------------------+
                 |  |                            |
                 |N |     Client Interface       |
                 |  |                            |
                 |A +----------Routing ----------+
                 |  |                            |
                 |S |    Network Interface       |
                 |  |                            |
                 +--+----------------------------+
                            /      |     \
                           /       |      \
                          /        |       \
                         /         |        \
       USER MANAGEMENT  /          |         \  DEVICE MANAGEMENT
       +---------------+           |          +-------------------+
       | Authentication|         _/^\_        |Device Provisioning|
       +---------------+       _/     \_      +-------------------+
       | Authorization |     _/         \_    |Device Monitoring  |
       +---------------+   _/             \_  +-------------------+
       | Accounting    |  /       The       \
       +---------------+  \_   Network(s)  _/
       | Auditing      |    \_           _/
       +---------------+      \_       _/
                                \_   _/
                                  \_/
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     Beadles                                                       [Page 3]


     INTERNET-DRAFT                                           7 August 1998
     
     
     5.1.  Terminology
     
     
     Following is a description of the modules and interfaces in the refer-
     ence model for a NAS given above:
     
     
     Client Interfaces
               A  NAS  has one or more client interfaces, which provide the
               interface to  the  end  users  who  are  requesting  network
               access.   Users  may  connect to these client interfaces via
               modems over a PSTN, via tunnels over  data  network,  or  by
               some other means.
     
     Network Interfaces
               A  NAS  has one or more network interfaces, which connect to
               the networks to which access is being granted.
     
     Routing   If the network to which access is being granted is a  routed
               network, then a NAS will typically include routing function-
               ality.
     
     User Management Interface
               A NAS provides an interface which allows access  to  network
               services  to be managed on a per-user basis.  This interface
               may be a configuration file, a graphical user interface,  an
               API,  or a protocol such as RADIUS [1].  This interface pro-
               vides a mechanism for granular resource management and  pol-
               icy enforcement.
     
     Authentication
               Authentication refers to the confirmation that a user who is
               requesting services is a valid user of the network  services
               requested.  Authentication is accomplished via the presenta-
               tion of an identity and credentials.  Examples of  types  of
               credentials are passwords, one-time tokens, digital certifi-
               cates, and phone numbers (calling/called).
     
     Authorization
               Authorization refers to the granting of  specific  types  of
               service  (including  "no service") to a user, based on their
               authentication, what services they are requesting,  and  the
               current system state. Authorization may be based on restric-
               tions, for example  time-of-day  restrictions,  or  physical
               location  restrictions,  or  restrictions  against  multiple
               logins by  the  same  user.   Authorization  determines  the
               nature  of  the service which is granted to a user.  Examples
               of types of service include, but  are  not  limited  to:  IP
               address  filtering,  address  assignment,  route assignment,
               QoS/differential services, bandwidth control/traffic manage-
               ment,  compulsory  tunneling  to  a  specific  endpoint, and
               encryption.
     
     
     
     
     
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     INTERNET-DRAFT                                           7 August 1998
     
     
     Accounting
               Accounting refers to the tracking of the consumption of  NAS
               resources  by  users.  This information may be used for man-
               agement, planning, billing, or  other  purposes.   Real-time
               accounting  refers  to accounting information that is deliv-
               ered concurrently with the  consumption  of  the  resources.
               Batch  accounting  refers  to accounting information that is
               saved until it is delivered at a later time.  Typical infor-
               mation that is gathered in accounting is the identity of the
               user, the nature of the service delivered, when the  service
               began, and when it ended.
     
     Auditing  Auditing  refers  to  the tracking of activity by users.  As
               opposed to accounting, where the purpose is  to  track  con-
               sumption  of resources, the purpose of auditing is to deter-
               mine the nature of a user's network activity.   Examples  of
               auditing  information  include the identity of the user, the
               nature of the services used, what hosts were accessed  when,
               what protocols were used, etc.
     
     AAAA Server
               An AAAA Server is a server or servers that provide authenti-
               cation, authorization, accounting,  and  auditing  services.
               These  may be colocated with the NAS, or more typically, are
               located on a separate server and communicate with the  NAS's
               User  Management  Interface  via an AAAA protocol.  The four
               AAAA functions may be located on a single server, or may  be
               broken up among multiple servers.
     
     Device Management Interface
               A NAS is a network device which is owned, operated, and man-
               aged by some entity.  This interface provides  a  means  for
               this  entity  to operate and manage the NAS.  This interface
               may be a configuration file, a graphical user interface,  an
               API, or a protocol such as SNMP [2].
     
     Device Monitoring
               Device  monitoring  refers to the tracking of status, activ-
               ity, and usage of the NAS as a network device.
     
     Device Provisioning
               Device provisioning refers to the configurations,  settings,
               and control of the NAS as a network device.
     
     
     6.  Security Considerations
     
     
     As mentioned, a NAS is typically the first place in a network where secu-
     rity measures may be implemented.    Also, since a NAS is often a shared
     device, its various interfaces  (client, user management, and device man-
     agement) may need to be secured by integrity and/or confidentiality meas-
     ures.
     
     
     
     
     Beadles                                                       [Page 5]


     INTERNET-DRAFT                                           7 August 1998
     
     
     7.  References
     
     
     [1]  C. Rigney, A. Rubens, W. Simpson, S. Willens.  "Remote  Authenti-
     cation  Dial  In  User Service (RADIUS)." RFC 2138, Livingston, Merit,
     Daydreamer, April, 1997.
     
     [2]  Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M., and  J.  Davin,  "A  Simple
     Network  Management Protocol (SNMP)", RFC 1157, SNMP Research, Perfor-
     mance Systems International, Performance  Systems  International,  and
     MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, May 1990.
     
     
     8.  Author's Address
     
     
     
     Mark A. Beadles
     WorldCom Advanced Networks
     5000 Britton Rd.
     Hilliard, OH 43026
     
     Phone: 614-723-1941
     EMail: mbeadles@wcom.net
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     Beadles                                                       [Page 6]