Abstract
US Patent Number 7,308,706
Systems and methods for an associative policy model are provided. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing an associative policy. In this embodiment, the method includes providing a policy on a policy server, the policy having a service definition that contains first and second relational components, providing first and second network entities, operatively coupling the first and second network entities to the policy server, dynamically associating the first network entity with the second network entity (wherein such associating includes binding the first relational component of the service definition in the policy to the first network entity, and binding the second relational component of the service definition in the policy to the second network entity), and enforcing the policy on the first and second network entities.