Packet Switching Device Using Results Determined by an Application Node

• US 20120026897A1
• Filed: 07/29/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Guichard, Jim, Ward, David Delano, Alexander, Cedell Adam Jr., Oz, Doron, Hiltscher, Brian Lance
• Granted Patent: US 8,520,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/028 by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/35 Switches specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

Packets are encapsulated and sent from a service node (e.g., packet switching device) using one or more services applied to a packet by an application node (e.g., a packet switching device and/or computing platform such as a Cisco ASR 1000) to generate a result, which is used by the service node to process packets of a flow of packets to which the packet belonged. An example of a service applied to a packet is a classification service, such as, but not limited to, using deep packet inspection on the packet to identify a classification result. The service node can, for example, use this classification result to process other packets in a same packet flow, such that all packets of a flow do not need to be, nor typically are, sent to an application node for processing.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

creating, by a packet switching device, a request packet corresponding to a particular packet of a flow of packets, with the flow of packets including;

a particular packet and a plurality of other packets;

sending, by the packet switching device, the request packet to an application node of one or more application nodes remote from the packet switching device;

applying one or more services, by said one or more application nodes, to the particular packet to generate a particular result;

receiving, by the packet switching device, a response packet including the particular result, with the response packet corresponding to said sent request packet; and

processing, by the packet switching device, the particular packet and each packet of the plurality of other packets according to the particular result, without the plurality of other packets being sent to one or more application nodes prior to said processing of the plurality of other packets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more services includes a classification operation using deep packet inspection of the particular packet to produce a classification result;

and wherein the particular result includes the classification result.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said deep packet inspection includes analyzing the payload of the particular packet.

4. The method of claim 3, where said deep packet inspection includes analyzing information, extracted from the particular packet, corresponding to at least one or more of Open System Interconnect (OSI) layers from the group consisting of layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7.

5. A method, comprising:

creating, by a packet switching device, a request packet corresponding to a particular packet, with the request packet including the particular packet;

sending, by the packet switching device, the request packet to one or more application nodes external to the packet switching device to perform a classification operation on the particular packet to produce a classification result;

receiving, by the packet switching device, a response packet including the classification result; and

processing by the packet switching device, the particular packet based on the classification result.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the classification operation relies on deep packet inspection of the particular packet.

7. The method of claim 6, performing, by one or more application nodes the classification operation using deep packet inspection including analyzing the payload of the particular packet.

8. The method of claim 6, where said deep packet inspection includes analyzing information, extracted from the particular packet, corresponding to at least one or more of Open System Interconnect (OSI) layers from the group consisting of layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the classification result identifies a particular Quality of Service (QoS).

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the classification result identifies a particular Quality of Service (QoS);

wherein the particular packet is a packet in a flow of packets; and

wherein the method includes;

processing a plurality of other packets in the flow of packets according to the particular QoS;

wherein the plurality of other packets are not forwarded to said one or more application nodes prior to said processing of said other packets.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the response packet includes the particular packet which is said processed based on the classification result.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the request packet includes a service identification of at least one service of one or more services to be applied to the particular packet by one or more application nodes.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the particular packet is a packet in a flow of packets;

and wherein the method includes;

processing a plurality of other packets in the flow of packets based on the classification result.

14. The method of claim 5, comprising:

receiving, by the packet switching device, the particular packet from a device external to the packet switching device.

15. The method of claim 5, comprising:

determining to forward the particular packet of a flow of packets to said one or more application nodes;

wherein the flow of packets includes the particular packet and a plurality of other packets.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the classification result identifies a particular Quality of Service (QoS);

and

wherein the method includes;

determining for each specific packet of the plurality of other packets, not to forward to said specific packet to one or more application nodes; and

processing said specific packet based on the particular QoS.

17. A packet switching device, comprising:

an ingress interface of a plurality of interfaces configured to receive a flow of packets from an external device, with the flow of packets including;

a particular packet and a plurality of other packets;

a packet processor configured to create a request packet corresponding to the particular packet; and

a second interface of the plurality of interfaces configured to send the request packet to an application node of one or more application nodes, remote from the packet switching device, for applying one or more services to the particular packet by said one or more application nodes to generate a particular result;

wherein the packet switching device is configured to receive a response packet, corresponding to said sent request packet, on one of the plurality of interfaces, with the response packet including the particular result; and

wherein the packet switching device is configured to process the particular packet and each packet of the plurality of other packets according to the particular result, without the plurality of other packets being sent to one or more application nodes prior to said processing of the plurality of other packets.

18. The packet switching device of claim 17, wherein said one or more services includes a classification operation using deep packet inspection of the particular packet to produce a classification result;

and wherein the particular result includes the classification result.

19. The packet switching device of claim 18, wherein said deep packet inspection includes analyzing the payload of the particular packet.

20. The packet switching device of claim 19, where said deep packet inspection includes analyzing information, extracted from the particular packet, corresponding to at least one or more of Open System Interconnect (OSI) layers from the group consisting of layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7.