Apparatus, system, and method for debugging network devices based on the contents of dropped packets
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- detecting, at a network stack of a network device, a packet that;
is destined at least intermediately for a network interface of the network device; and
has been flagged by the network stack to be dropped instead of forwarded to the network interface based on at least one characteristic of the packet;
identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) identification number within a header of the packet;
instead of dropping the packet;
replacing, within the header of the packet, the IP identification number with an error code that corresponds to a reason that the packet has been flagged based on the characteristic of the packet;
altering a checksum field of the packet such that the packet is undeliverable to the network interface; and
forwarding the packet to an alternative network interface of the network device that analyzes content of packets;
identifying, at the alternative network interface, the error code that replaced the IP identification number within the header of the packet; and
executing, based on the error code identified within the header of the packet, at least one action in connection with the packet that improves the performance of the network device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A disclosed method may include (1) detecting, at a network stack of a network device, a packet that (A) is destined at least intermediately for a network interface of the network device and (B) has been flagged by the network stack to be dropped instead of forwarded to the network interface based on at least one characteristic of the packet, (2) instead of dropping the packet, forwarding the packet to an alternative network interface of the network device that analyzes content of packets, (3) identifying, at the alternative network interface, the characteristic of the packet, and then (4) executing, based on the characteristic of the packet, at least one action in connection with the packet that improves the performance of the network device. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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detecting, at a network stack of a network device, a packet that; is destined at least intermediately for a network interface of the network device; and has been flagged by the network stack to be dropped instead of forwarded to the network interface based on at least one characteristic of the packet; identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) identification number within a header of the packet; instead of dropping the packet; replacing, within the header of the packet, the IP identification number with an error code that corresponds to a reason that the packet has been flagged based on the characteristic of the packet; altering a checksum field of the packet such that the packet is undeliverable to the network interface; and forwarding the packet to an alternative network interface of the network device that analyzes content of packets; identifying, at the alternative network interface, the error code that replaced the IP identification number within the header of the packet; and executing, based on the error code identified within the header of the packet, at least one action in connection with the packet that improves the performance of the network device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a detection module, stored in memory, that; detects, at a network stack of a network device, a packet that; is destined at least intermediately for a network interface of the network device; and has been flagged by the network stack to be dropped instead of forwarded to the network interface based on at least one characteristic of the packet; identifies an Internet Protocol (IP) identification number within a header of the packet; replaces, within the header of the packet, the IP identification number with an error code that corresponds to a reason that the packet has been flagged based on the characteristic of the packet; and alters a checksum field of the packet such that the packet is undeliverable to the network interface; and a forwarding module, stored in memory, that instead of dropping the packet, forwards the packet to an alternative network interface of the network device that analyzes content of packets; an identification module, stored in memory, that identifies, at the alternative network interface, the error code that replaced the IP identification number within the header of the packet; an action module, stored in memory, that executes, based on the error code identified within the header of the packet, at least one action in connection with the packet that improves the performance of the network device; and at least one physical processor configured to execute the detection module, the forwarding module, the identification module, and the action module. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one storage device that stores rules for identifying packets to be dropped at a network device; and a physical processing device communicatively coupled to the storage device, wherein the physical processing device; detects, at a network stack of the network device, a packet that; is destined at least intermediately for a network interface of the network device; and has been flagged by the network stack to be dropped instead of forwarded to the network interface based on at least one characteristic of the packet; identifies an Internet Protocol (IP) identification number within a header of the packet; instead of dropping the packet; replaces, within the header of the packet, the IP identification number with an error code that corresponds to a reason that the packet has been flagged based on the characteristic of the packet; alters a checksum field of the packet such that the packet is undeliverable to the network interface; and forwards the packet to an alternative network interface of the network device that analyzes content of packets; identifies, at the alternative network interface, the error code that replaced the IP identification number within the header of the packet; and executes, based on the error code identified within the header of the packet, at least one action in connection with the packet that improves the performance of the network device. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification