Redirecting network traffic based on content
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for routing traffic through a network including a plurality of interconnected switching devices, comprising:
- (a) receiving a packet that includes a header and contents;
(b) determining that the packet is in a new data stream, wherein the determining (b) comprises determining that the packet'"'"'s data stream does not have an entry in a quick lookup table of an access switching device, wherein the quick lookup table maps data streams to particular ports of the access switching device and is separate from a routing table that maps destination subnets to particular ports of the access switching device;
(c) determining that a rule in a plurality of rules correlates to the contents of the packet;
(d) determining a destination for the packet based on the rule;
(e) determining a label to attach to the packet, the label indicating to the plurality of interconnected switching devices how to route data to the destination; and
(f) attaching the label to respective packets in the new data stream to direct the new data stream to the destination determined based on the rule and the contents.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rule indicates that data having particular characteristics be automatically routed to a particular destination. When software on a switching device detects a new data stream, it is analyzed to determine whether it has characteristics specified by the rule. If it does, the packet is encapsulated with a special tag, indicating that the packet should be routed to the new destination. Also, an entry is added to a quick-lookup table in the switching device. The entry indicates that future packets in the data stream that have the same source and destination port and address should also be routed to the new destination.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for routing traffic through a network including a plurality of interconnected switching devices, comprising:
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(a) receiving a packet that includes a header and contents; (b) determining that the packet is in a new data stream, wherein the determining (b) comprises determining that the packet'"'"'s data stream does not have an entry in a quick lookup table of an access switching device, wherein the quick lookup table maps data streams to particular ports of the access switching device and is separate from a routing table that maps destination subnets to particular ports of the access switching device; (c) determining that a rule in a plurality of rules correlates to the contents of the packet; (d) determining a destination for the packet based on the rule; (e) determining a label to attach to the packet, the label indicating to the plurality of interconnected switching devices how to route data to the destination; and (f) attaching the label to respective packets in the new data stream to direct the new data stream to the destination determined based on the rule and the contents. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for routing traffic through a network including a plurality of interconnected switching devices, comprising:
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an access switching device; a routing table that maps destination subnets to particular ports of the access switching device; a quick lookup table of the access switching device, the quick lookup table mapping data streams to particular ports of the access switching device and being separate from the routing table; a redirect module that (i) receives a packet that includes a header and contents, (ii) determines that the packet'"'"'s data stream does not have an entry in the quick lookup table to determine whether the packet is part of the new data stream, and (iii) determines that the packet is in a new data stream; a business rule module that determines that a rule in a plurality of rules correlates to the contents of the packet and determines a destination for the packet based on the rule; and a label determination module that determines a label to attach to the packet, the label indicating to the plurality of interconnected switching devices how to route data to the destination, wherein the label is attached to respective packets in the new data stream to direct the new data stream to the destination determined based on the rule and the contents. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A program storage device tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by at least one machine to perform a method for routing traffic through a network including a plurality of interconnected switching devices, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving a packet that includes a header and contents; (b) determining that the packet is in a new data stream, wherein the determining (b) comprises determining that the packet'"'"'s data stream does not have an entry in a quick lookup table of an access switching device, wherein the quick lookup table maps data streams to particular ports of the access switching device and is separate from a routing table that maps destination subnets to particular ports of the access switching device; (c) determining that a rule in a plurality of rules correlates to the contents of the packet; (d) determining a destination for the packet based on the rule; (e) determining a label to attach to the packet, the label indicating to the plurality of interconnected switching devices how to route data to the destination; and (f) attaching the label to respective packets in the new data stream to direct the new data stream to the destination determined based on the rule and the contents.
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21. A computer-implemented method for routing traffic through a network including a plurality of interconnected switching devices, comprising:
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(a) receiving a first packet that includes a header and contents; (b) determining that the first packet is in a new data stream; (c) receiving a second packet from the new data stream, the second packet also including a header and contents; (d) determining that a rule in a plurality of rules correlates to the contents of the first and second packets, wherein the determining (d) comprises selecting the rule from the plurality of rules at least based on the contents of both the first packet received in (a) and the second packet received in (b); (e) determining a destination for the first and second packets based on the rule; (f) determining a label to attach to the first and second packets, the label indicating to the plurality of interconnected switching devices how to route data to the destination; and (g) attaching the label to respective packets in the new data stream to direct the new data stream to the destination determined based on the rule and the contents. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification