Firewall including local bus
First Claim
1. A network device comprising:
- a first memory to store packets received at the network device;
a controller to transfer the packets to the first memory via a first bus;
a processor including a plurality of processing units and a second memory to store a first plurality of rules; and
a third memory to store a second plurality of rules,where the processor is to;
retrieve a first one of the packets from the first memory via the first bus or a second bus,inspect the first packet to identify a set of rules associated with the first packet,match ones of the identified set of rules to ones of the first plurality of rules, andmatch at least one other one of the identified set of rules to at least one of the second plurality of rules, andwhere at least one of the processing units processes the first packet using the matched ones of the identified set of rules and the matched at least one other one of the identified set of rules.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A gateway for screening packets transferred over a network. The gateway includes a plurality of network interfaces, a memory and a memory controller. Each network interface receives and forwards messages from a network through the gateway. The memory temporarily stores packets received from a network. The memory controller couples each of the network interfaces and is configured to coordinate the transfer of received packets to and from the memory using a memory bus. The gateway includes a firewall engine coupled to the memory bus. The firewall engine is operable to retrieve packets from the memory and screen each packet prior to forwarding a given packet through the gateway and out an appropriate network interface. A local bus is coupled between the firewall engine and the memory providing a second path for retrieving packets from memory when the memory bus is busy.
56 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A network device comprising:
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a first memory to store packets received at the network device; a controller to transfer the packets to the first memory via a first bus; a processor including a plurality of processing units and a second memory to store a first plurality of rules; and a third memory to store a second plurality of rules, where the processor is to; retrieve a first one of the packets from the first memory via the first bus or a second bus, inspect the first packet to identify a set of rules associated with the first packet, match ones of the identified set of rules to ones of the first plurality of rules, and match at least one other one of the identified set of rules to at least one of the second plurality of rules, and where at least one of the processing units processes the first packet using the matched ones of the identified set of rules and the matched at least one other one of the identified set of rules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method performed in communication system, the method comprising:
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storing, in a first memory of the communication system, packets received at the communication system; transferring, by a controller of the communication system and via a first bus, the packets to the first memory; storing, in a second memory of the communication system, a first plurality of rules; storing, in a third memory of the communication system, a second plurality of rules; and retrieving, by a processor of the communication system and via the first bus or a second bus, a first one of the packets from the first memory, inspecting, by the processor, the first packet to identify a set of rules associated with the first packet, matching, by the processor, ones of the identified set of rules to ones of the first plurality of rules, matching, by the processor, at least one other one of the identified set of rules to at least one of the second plurality of rules, and processing, by the processor, the first packet using the matched ones of the identified set of rules and the matched at least one other one of the identified set of rules. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification