Redirecting data units to service modules based on service tags and a redirection table
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- receiving a data unit at an ingress line interface of a network device;
at the ingress line interface, performing a lookup into a classification table, associated with the ingress line interface, based on header information of the data unit;
identifying a class of the received data unit based on the performed lookup;
at the ingress line interface, obtaining a service tag based on the class of the data unit, where the service tag includes a redirect subcommand field, the redirect subcommand field including a subcommand, used by a service module of the network device, to specify further processing required by the data unit, or provide an indication for assigning the data unit to at least one of a component or a service sub-module of the network device;
identifying at the ingress line interface, based on information included in the obtained service tag, the service module of the network device;
sending, based on identifying the service module, the service tag and the data unit, across a switch fabric of the network device from the ingress line interface to the service module in the network device;
performing a service for the data unit at the service module of the network device based on the subcommand;
determining whether the data unit requires further processing; and
upon determining the data unit requires no further processing, clearing fields of the service tag, and sending the data unit to a network address originally included in a data unit descriptor.
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Abstract
A device may receive a data unit and identify a class of the received data unit. The device may further obtain a service tag based on the class of the data unit and send the service tag and the data unit to a service module in the network device. The service module may perform a service for the data unit.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a data unit at an ingress line interface of a network device; at the ingress line interface, performing a lookup into a classification table, associated with the ingress line interface, based on header information of the data unit; identifying a class of the received data unit based on the performed lookup; at the ingress line interface, obtaining a service tag based on the class of the data unit, where the service tag includes a redirect subcommand field, the redirect subcommand field including a subcommand, used by a service module of the network device, to specify further processing required by the data unit, or provide an indication for assigning the data unit to at least one of a component or a service sub-module of the network device; identifying at the ingress line interface, based on information included in the obtained service tag, the service module of the network device; sending, based on identifying the service module, the service tag and the data unit, across a switch fabric of the network device from the ingress line interface to the service module in the network device; performing a service for the data unit at the service module of the network device based on the subcommand; determining whether the data unit requires further processing; and upon determining the data unit requires no further processing, clearing fields of the service tag, and sending the data unit to a network address originally included in a data unit descriptor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A device comprising:
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a first line interface to; receive a data unit, identify a class of the received data unit, obtain a data unit descriptor and a service tag using the data unit, where the service tag is obtained by an access control list (ACL) lookup, the ACL including a plurality of rules that detail one or more services that are available on the device, where the service tag includes a redirect subcommand field, the redirect subcommand field including; a subcommand, used by a service module of the network device, to; specify further processing required by the data unit, or provide an indication for assigning the data unit to at least one of a component or a service sub-module of the network device, augment the data unit by appending the data unit descriptor and the service tag to the data unit, and send the augmented data unit from the first line interface to the service module; and the service module to; receive the augmented data unit from the first line interface, render a service for the augmented data unit, and perform, based on the subcommand, one of; sending the augmented data unit to another service module, sending the augmented data unit to a second line interface, dropping the augmented data unit, or clearing fields of the service tag and sending the augmented data unit to a network address originally included in the data unit descriptor, if the subcommand does not specify further processing is required. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A device comprising:
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means for receiving a data unit at an ingress line interface of a network device; means for obtaining a data unit descriptor based on a forwarding table and the received data unit; means for identifying a class of the received data unit at the ingress line interface based on a classification table lookup using header information of the data unit, where the classification table includes one or more rules for performing an access control list (ACL) lookup or rendering differentiated quality of service; means for obtaining a service tag at an ingress line interface based on the class of the received data unit, where the service tag includes a redirect subcommand field, the redirect subcommand field including a subcommand, used by a service module of the network device, to specify further processing required by the data unit, or provide an indication for assigning the data unit to at least one of a component or a service sub-module of the network device; means for augmenting the data unit by attaching the service tag and the data unit descriptor to the data unit; means for retrieving a target destination of the data unit from a redirection table by using a redirection index in the service tag; means for sending the data unit from the ingress line interface to the service module of the network device based on the retrieved target destination; means for determining whether the augmented data unit requires further processing; and means for clearing fields of the service tag and means for sending the augmented data unit to a network address originally included in the data unit descriptor, upon determining the data unit requires no further processing. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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17. The device of 11, where the redirection table includes at least one row, the row including a destination field specifying two or more service modules.
Specification