US6401117B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Platform permitting execution of multiple network infrastructure applications
Assignee: Intel Corp
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Filing: 1999-03-31
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Granted: 2002-06-04
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Expires: 2019-03-31
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates to a general-purpose programmable packet-processing platform for accelerating network infrastructure applications which have been structured so as to separate the stages of classification and action. Network packet classification, execution of actions upon those packets, management of buffer flow, encryption services, and management of Network Interface Controllers are accelerated through the use of a multiplicity of specialized modules. A language interface is defined for specifying both stateless and stateful classification of packets and to associate actions with classification results in order to efficiently utilize these specialized modules.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles E. Narad
- 👤 Kevin Fall
- 👤 Neil MacAvoy
- 👤 Pradip Shankar
- 👤 Leonard M. Rand
- 👤 Jerry J. Hall
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 03:48
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L47/00; H04L47/10; G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/30; G06F9/30003; G06F9/30007; G06F9/30021; G06F9/30029; G06F9/30036; G06F9/30038; G06F9/30094; G06F9/30098; G06F9/3012; G06F9/30123; G06F9/30127; G06F9/30145; G06F9/3016; G06F9/30167; G06F9/38; G06F9/3885; H04L45/00; H04L45/16; H04L47/50; H04L47/62; H04L47/625; H04L47/627; H04L49/00; H04L49/90; H04L49/901; H04L49/9031; H04L49/9047; H04L49/9084; H04L49/9089; H04L49/9094; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04L69/00; H04L69/03; H04L69/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
66 words
A platform permitting execution of multiple network infrastructure applications, comprising: (a) selection means to select network traffic according to criteria provided by at least one of the applications and provide a predicate; and (b) processing means to process the network traffic as specified by at least one of the applications and in accordance with the predicate, the predicate indicating a result obtained from the selection means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
66 words
A platform permitting execution of multiple network infrastructure applications, comprising: (a) selection means to select network traffic according to criteria provided by at least one of the applications and provide a predicate; and (b) processing means to process the network traffic as specified by at least one of the applications and in accordance with the predicate, the predicate indicating a result obtained from the selection means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The platform of claim 1 , wherein two or more of the network applications execute concurrently.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The platform of claim 2 , wherein there is an interaction between concurrently executing network applications.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The platform of claim 3 , wherein the interaction is user determined.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The platform of claim 4 , wherein the user determined interaction is user definable.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The platform of claim 4 , wherein the user determined interaction is user selectable.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
14 words
The platform of claim 1 , wherein the execution of the applications are accelerated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The platform of claim 7 , wherein the acceleration is performed by hardware.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The platform of claim 7 , wherein the acceleration is performed by software.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The platform of claim 1 wherein the selection and processing means include a graphical-user interface.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The platform of claim 1 wherein the selection and processing means have the ability to select between multiple interfaces.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The platform claim 1 wherein the selection and processing means allow the association of interfaces with applications.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The platform of claim 1 which includes the ability to manage the selection and processing means independently.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The platform of claim 1 wherein the selection and processing means reside on the same physical resource.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The platform of claim 1 wherein the selection and processing means do not reside on the same physical resource.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
44 words
A method of classifying network packets comprising: (a) extracting a field of interest from a packet; (b) comparing the extracted field to a constant and providing a predicate accordingly; (c) reducing the predicate complexity; and (d) communicating the reduced predicate to a processing unit.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
44 words
A method of classifying network packets comprising: (a) extracting a field of interest from a packet; (b) comparing the extracted field to a constant and providing a predicate accordingly; (c) reducing the predicate complexity; and (d) communicating the reduced predicate to a processing unit.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the extracting act extracts information from a group consisting of a packet header and a packet payload.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the packet header and the packet payload are processed in a substantially similar manner.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
10 words
The method of claim 16 further including performing table lookups.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 16 further including parsing layers of successively encapsulated headers.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
9 words
The method of claim 16 further including checksum verification.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 16 further including performing additional acts based on content of extracted field.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the reducing includes performing Boolean operations.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 16 wherein acts (a) through (d) are performed utilizing software.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 16 wherein acts (a) through (d) are performed utilizing hardware.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 16 wherein acts (a) through (d) are performed utilizing a pipelined apparatus.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 16 wherein acts (a) through (d) are performed speculatively.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 16 wherein acts (a) through (d) are utilized to provide services selected from a group consisting of network management, network traffic engineering, network security, and network monitoring.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the constant is stored in a table.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 further including communicating a pointer to a record to the processing unit to expedite processing of one or more packets.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
59 words
An article of manufacture comprising: a machine readable medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations including: extracting a field of interest from a packet; comparing the extracted field to a constant and providing a predicate accordingly; reducing the predicate complexity; and communicating the reduced predicate to a processing unit.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
59 words
An article of manufacture comprising: a machine readable medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations including: extracting a field of interest from a packet; comparing the extracted field to a constant and providing a predicate accordingly; reducing the predicate complexity; and communicating the reduced predicate to a processing unit.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
61 words
The article of claim 31 wherein the machine readable medium further provides instructions that, if executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations including: generate a hash key from the extracted field and utilize the hash key to perform a lookup in a hash table to identify a record associated with at least one packet matching the key.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
45 words
The article of claim 31 wherein the machine readable medium further provides instructions that, if executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations including: communicating a pointer to a record to the processing unit to expedite processing of one or more packets.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
109 words
A system comprising: a network of computers, each computer coupled to another to form a local area network; a link coupled to the network of computers; a network classification tool coupled to the link to receive a flow of information, the flow of information including network traffic, the network classification tool equipped to select a portion of the network traffic according to criteria provided by at least one network application and to process the network traffic as specified by at least one network application and in accordance with a predicate derived from the selected portion of the network traffic, the predicate indicating a result obtained from the selection act.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
109 words
A system comprising: a network of computers, each computer coupled to another to form a local area network; a link coupled to the network of computers; a network classification tool coupled to the link to receive a flow of information, the flow of information including network traffic, the network classification tool equipped to select a portion of the network traffic according to criteria provided by at least one network application and to process the network traffic as specified by at least one network application and in accordance with a predicate derived from the selected portion of the network traffic, the predicate indicating a result obtained from the selection act.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 34 wherein the network application is dynamically provided by a host processor.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 34 further being capable of causing the selected network traffic to be returned to the classification tool to be reclassified.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5764645A
Cited
US6078953A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-06-03 | 2005-12-03 | 2006-06-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-06-03 | 2009-12-03 | 2010-06-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-06-03 | 2013-12-03 | 2014-06-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |