Configurable rule-engine for layer-7 and traffic characteristic-based classification
First Claim
1. A data flow classification system comprising:
- a data flow managing mechanism configured to identify, track, and manage said data flow;
a rule set including a plurality of rules for comparing information contained in said data flow with pre-specified values;
a configurable classification rule engine for initially classifying said data flow into one of a plurality of traffic classes based on results of said comparisons between said rules and said pre-specified values, and subsequently reclassifying said data flow into a different one of the plurality of traffic classes based on different results of said comparisons;
a configuration filed for configuring said classification rule engine and for specifying said pre-specified values and information regarding at least one of said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes,wherein said configuration file comprises a format that allows for the modification and reconfiguration of said classification rule engine, said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes.
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Abstract
A system and method for data flow classification based on a configurable rule-engine, is presented herein. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the system includes a data flow managing mechanism configured to identify, track, and manage the data flows and a rule set, which includes a plurality of rules for comparing information contained within data flow with pre-specified values. The system also includes a configurable classification rule engine for classifying the data flows into one of a plurality of traffic classes based on results of the comparisons. The configurable classification rule engine is configured via a configuration file that specifies and allows for the modification and reconfiguration of the pre-specified values and information regarding the data flows, the rule set, and the traffic classes.
146 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A data flow classification system comprising:
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a data flow managing mechanism configured to identify, track, and manage said data flow; a rule set including a plurality of rules for comparing information contained in said data flow with pre-specified values; a configurable classification rule engine for initially classifying said data flow into one of a plurality of traffic classes based on results of said comparisons between said rules and said pre-specified values, and subsequently reclassifying said data flow into a different one of the plurality of traffic classes based on different results of said comparisons; a configuration filed for configuring said classification rule engine and for specifying said pre-specified values and information regarding at least one of said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes, wherein said configuration file comprises a format that allows for the modification and reconfiguration of said classification rule engine, said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of classifying a data flow, comprising:
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identifying, tracking, and managing said data flow by a data flow managing mechanism; comparing information contained in said data flow with a plurality of rules containing pre-specified values, said plurality of rules included in a rule set; and initially classifying, by a configurable classification rule engine, said data flow into one of a plurality of traffic classes based on results of said comparisons between said rules and said pre-specified values, and subsequently reclassifying said data flow into a different one of the plurality of traffic classes based on different results of said comparisons; wherein said classification rule engine is configured by a configuration file, said configuration file specifying said pre-specified values and information regarding at least one of said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes, and wherein said configuration file comprises a format that allows for the modification and reconfiguration of said classification rule engine, said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A machine-readable medium encoded with a plurality of processor-executable instruction sequences for classifying a data flow, said instruction sequences comprising:
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identifying, tracking, and managing said data flow by a data flow managing mechanism; comparing information contained in said data flow with a plurality of rules containing pre-specified values, said plurality of rules include in a rule set; and initially classifying, by a configurable classification rule engine, said data flow into one of a plurality of traffic classes based on results of said comparisons between said rules and said pre-specified values, and subsequently reclassifying said data flow into a different one of the plurality of traffic class based on different results of said comparisons; wherein said classification rule engine is configured by a configuration file, said configuration file specifying said pre-specified values and information regarding at least one of said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes, and wherein said configuration file comprises a format that allows for the modification and reconfiguration of said classification rule engine, said data flow, said rule set, and said plurality of traffic classes. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification