In many existing networked systems, client nodes establish connections to host nodes in a network. The client nodes and host nodes are then able to communicate for a duration of time. In many situations, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may manage the host nodes. For example, the ISP may configure the host nodes with groups of modems contained in modem pools, and a client node may acquire access to the Internet by connecting to one of the modems in the pool. The client nodes may include home or business computing systems. In these scenarios, the host nodes may often be referred to as Points of Presence, or PoP's. In certain scenarios, the client nodes may be able to directly communicate with the host nodes using broadband connections.
Often, host nodes in a network will maintain policy information. This policy information may include access information that may be used by the client nodes to access the host nodes. For example, the access information could include modem dial-in numbers, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and the like. The host nodes then provide the policy information to the various client nodes in the network. In certain scenarios, the host nodes may even provide configuration information, such as modem configuration information, to the client nodes. The client nodes may use this initial configuration information to set up their dial-up modems, and may also use the policy information to select a dial-in access number for a given host node.
If client nodes do not have access to local dial-in access numbers, they may often use a more generic access number to make an initial connection. For example, a client node may use an “800” access number to access a host node using a dial-up connection. The client node may then specify a particular area code, and the host node may respond by providing a list of dial-in access numbers that correspond to the specified area code. Subsequently, the client node may establish dial-up connections using one of the provided access numbers.
In certain situations, the client or host nodes may collect various forms of historical or statistical information relating to their network connections. For example, for modem-based connections, a client node or a host node may collect information relating to the total number of calls initiated or received, the call success rate, average session lengths, and the like. This type of information can be displayed to an administrator on a graphical user interface (GUI) to provide a summary of network activity, and can also be distributed to users in a report format.