System and method for customizing the identification of application or content type
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for dynamic network traffic control, comprising:
- identifying, by a traffic controller, a first data packet, flowing from a source network device to a destination network device, as a subject of traffic-type classification by the traffic controller, the first packet produced in response to an action by an end-user, the traffic type classification being associated with at least one of an application type and a content type, the traffic controller including a control engine coupled to a network interface, the control engine controlling transmission and receipt of data packets between clients and servers, the control engine including classification modules, each of the classification modules having a unique identifier and being operable to trigger on a RULE INIT event;
identifying by a first collection of traffic classification modules of the traffic controller, a session identifier of the first data packet, the session identifier corresponding to a network session between the source network device and the destination network device, the session identifier distinguishing the network session from other network sessions;
determining that the traffic controller is transitioning from the first collection of traffic classification modules to a second collection of traffic classification modules;
setting the collection identifier for the session to point to the second collection of traffic classification modules;
determining that the first data packet is an event of a first event type, the first event type representing an initiating event;
processing the first data packet in accordance with a rule set defined by the second collection of classification modules and the initiating event; and
producing, as a result of processing the first data packet, an intra-session persistent state for the second collection of traffic classification modules.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Expertise, for performing classification of a type of network traffic, can be encapsulated in a module. A set of modules, as currently available to a traffic controller, can be referred to as a collection. Programming language constructs are introduced that facilitate the writing of modules customized to identify network traffic that is peculiar to a particular user, or to a relatively small group of users. An example programming language, based on Tcl, is introduced. A key aspect is event-driven programming, and the “when” command construct is introduced. Three important event types, that can trigger a “when” command, are CLIENT_DATA, SERVER_DATA, and RULE_INIT. Another key aspect is an ability to keep state information between events. Constructs for intra-session, intra-module, and global state are introduced. A module can be blocked from executing more than once for a session. Successful execution of a module can be specified by a “match” statement.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for dynamic network traffic control, comprising:
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identifying, by a traffic controller, a first data packet, flowing from a source network device to a destination network device, as a subject of traffic-type classification by the traffic controller, the first packet produced in response to an action by an end-user, the traffic type classification being associated with at least one of an application type and a content type, the traffic controller including a control engine coupled to a network interface, the control engine controlling transmission and receipt of data packets between clients and servers, the control engine including classification modules, each of the classification modules having a unique identifier and being operable to trigger on a RULE INIT event; identifying by a first collection of traffic classification modules of the traffic controller, a session identifier of the first data packet, the session identifier corresponding to a network session between the source network device and the destination network device, the session identifier distinguishing the network session from other network sessions; determining that the traffic controller is transitioning from the first collection of traffic classification modules to a second collection of traffic classification modules; setting the collection identifier for the session to point to the second collection of traffic classification modules; determining that the first data packet is an event of a first event type, the first event type representing an initiating event; processing the first data packet in accordance with a rule set defined by the second collection of classification modules and the initiating event; and producing, as a result of processing the first data packet, an intra-session persistent state for the second collection of traffic classification modules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification