TRANSPARENT PROVISIONING OF NETWORK ACCESS TO AN APPLICATION
First Claim
1. A method of transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the network, the first application including a first application network interface capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each being transmitted by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the method comprising:
- interfacing between the network and the first application network interface of the first application;
intercepting each of at least a portion of the plurality of packets prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination;
evaluating each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and
converting the intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application, storing information representative thereof and providing the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for enhancing the infrastructure of a network such as the Internet is disclosed. A packet interceptor/processor apparatus is coupled with the network so as to be able to intercept and process packets flowing over the network. Further, the apparatus provides external connectivity to other devices that wish to intercept packets as well. The apparatus applies one or more rules to the intercepted packets which execute one or more functions on a dynamically specified portion of the packet and take one or more actions with the packets. The apparatus is capable of analyzing any portion of the packet including the header and payload. Actions include releasing the packet unmodified, deleting the packet, modifying the packet, logging/storing information about the packet or forwarding the packet to an external device for subsequent processing. Further, the rules may be dynamically modified by the external devices.
513 Citations
70 Claims
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1. A method of transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the network, the first application including a first application network interface capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each being transmitted by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the method comprising:
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interfacing between the network and the first application network interface of the first application; intercepting each of at least a portion of the plurality of packets prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination; evaluating each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and converting the intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application, storing information representative thereof and providing the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A system for transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the network, the first application including a first application network interface capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each being transmitted by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the system comprising:
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a system network interface operative to interface between the network and the first application network interface of the first application; a packet interceptor coupled with the system network interface and operative to intercept each of at least a portion of the plurality of packets prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination; a packet evaluator coupled with the packet interceptor and operative to evaluate each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and a packet converter coupled with the packet evaluator and operative to convert the intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application, store information representative thereof and provide the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A system for transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the network, the first application including a first application network interface capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each being transmitted by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the system comprising a processor and a memory coupled with the processor, the system further comprising:
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a system network interface coupled with the processor and operative to interface between the network and the first application network interface of the first application; first logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the system network interface to intercept each of at least a portion of the plurality of packets prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination; second logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to evaluate each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and third logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to convert the intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application, store information representative thereof and provide the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset. - View Dependent Claims (68)
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69. A system for transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the network, the first application including a first application network interface capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each being transmitted by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the system comprising:
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means for interfacing between the network and the first application network interface of the first application; means for intercepting each of at least a portion of the plurality of packets prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination; means for evaluating each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and means for converting the intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application, storing information representative thereof and providing the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset - View Dependent Claims (70)
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Specification