Cisco Technology, Inc.

Andrew Yourtchenko

Frank Brockners

Shwetha Subray Bhandari

Eric G Vyncke

Venkata Krishna Sashank Dara

Jerome Tollet

Edward Albert Warnicke

Aloys Augustin

William Mark Townsley

Giles Douglas Yorke Heron

Techniques for routing Internet Protocol security (IPsec) data packets. An index is assigned to a Security Parameter Index (SPI) header of the IPsec data packet. The index includes information for routing the data packet to a particular Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) processor. The data packet can be routed using techniques that are analogous to conventional routing protocols such as IPv4 routing protocol. This allows the data packet to be routed using less expensive routing protocols rather than relying solely on more expensive load balancing techniques to route the data packet. This also advantageously allows the data packet to be routed employing routing techniques developed over decades of routing protocol development.

Internet protocol security and security parameter index summarization and data routing

A system and methods are provided for verifying proof of transit of network traffic through a plurality of network nodes in a network. Information is obtained about a packet at a network node in a network. The information may include in-band metadata of the packet. Verification information is read from in-band metadata of the packet. Updated verification information is generated from the verification information read from the packet and based on configuration information associated with the network node. The updated verification information is written back to the in-band metadata in the packet. The packet is forwarded from the network node in the network.

Network path proof of transit using in-band metadata

A system and methods are provided herein for verifying proof of transit of traffic through a plurality of network nodes in a network. In one embodiment, a method is provided in which information is obtained about a packet at a network node in a network. The information includes in-band metadata. Verification information is read from the in-band metadata. The verification information for use in verifying a path of the packet in the network. Updated verification information is generated from the verification information read from the packet. The updated verification information is written to the in-band metadata of the packet, and the packet is forwarded from the network node in the network.

Transport mechanism for carrying in-band metadata for network path proof of transit

A system and methods are provided for verifying proof of transit of network traffic through a plurality of network nodes in a network. In one embodiment, each network node reads a first value and a second value from in-band metadata of packet, and generates, using a cryptographic key that is unique to each respective network node, an encryption result based on the first value. An updated second value is generated based on the second value read from the packet and the encryption result. Each network node writes the updated second value to the in-band metadata of the packet, and forwards the packet in the network. In another embodiment, a secret sharing scheme is employed by each network node computes a portion of verification information using a unique share of a secret and based on the packet specific information.

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Brabant, Belgium

Andrew Yourtchenko