Netrake Corporation

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Audiocodes Texas, Inc.

Mark Warden Hervin

Robert Daniel Maher, Iii

Milton Andre Lie

Aswinkumar Vishanji Rana

James Robert Deerman

Corey Alan Garrow

Kevin William Brandon

Travis Ernest Strother, Jr

John Raymond Carman

Larry Gene Maxwell

Donald Edward Steiss

John H W Bettink

John C Carney

Marvin Wayne Martinez, Jr

Victor A Bennett

Brian Michael Forbes

In one embodiment, rule-based virtual address translation is performed for accessing data (e.g., reading and/or writing data) typically stored in different manners and/or locations among one or more memories, such as, but not limited to, in packet switching devices. A virtual address is matched against a set of predetermined rules to identify one or more storing description parameters. These storing description parameters determine in which particular memory unit(s) and/or how the data is stored. Thus, different portions of a data structure (e.g., table) can be stored in different memories and/or using different storage techniques. The virtual address is converted to a lookup address based on the identified storing description parameter(s). One or more read or write operations in one or more particular memory units is performed based on the lookup address said converted from the virtual address.

Rule-based virtual address translation for accessing data

A network device for enforcing service level agreements is described that is able to scan the contents of entire data packets including header and payload information. The network device includes memory for storing subscriber information, policies and statistics. The traffic flow scanning processor scans the header and payload information from each data packet, which is used to associate each data packet with a particular subscriber, classify the type of network traffic in the data packet and to enforce the particular policies associated with the subscriber. The traffic flow scanning processor produces a treatment for the data packet based on the scanning. The scanned data packets and the associated treatments are then passed to a quality of service processor, which modifies the data packets if necessary and enforces resource allocation according to the preprogrammed policies.

Method and apparatus for enforcing service level agreements

A content processor is described that is able to scan the contents of entire data packets including header and payload information. The content processor includes a queue engine operable to reorder out of order data packets and reassemble fragmented data packets. The queue engine sends the reordered and reassembled data packets to the context engine, which schedules the packets to be scanned. The packets are scanned by the content scanning engine using one or more string memories and one or more leaf string memories. The string memories are used by the content scanning engine to determine if there is a potential match between the data packet being scanned and any of the strings contained in database of known strings. If a potential match is identified, whether or not there is an exact match is determined using the leaf string memories and the leaf string compare engine. The scanning of the data packet results in a conclusion being generated by the content scanning engine. The conclusion can be an intermediate conclusion, can be an instruction to be executed by the content processor, can instruct the context engine to forward the information to a host processor for further analysis, or can be the final conclusion sent with the data packet with routing and quality of service treatment. Other uses for the conclusion are programmable in the content processor.

Content processor

A network processing system is described that is able to scan the entire contents of data packets passing through it, and to associate related data packets into discrete sessions, or flows. This ability allows the network processing system to learn characteristics of flows and events contained within those flows. Further, the network processing system can remember characteristics and events that have already been learned for use in processing future data packets. And finally, the network processing system can apply treatments to individual data packets and flows based on the characteristics and events learned, as well as previous state that has been maintained for that flow. To accomplish this, the network processing system includes processing engines, referred to as learning state machines, that scan the entire contents of data packets, use specific information in the data packets to associate the data packet with a particular session, or flow, identify characteristics of the data packet and associated flow, as well as events contained within the flow, store a state for the flow that contains the characteristics and events already learned, and determine a treatment for the data packet based on its contents and flow state.

Learning state machine for use in internet protocol networks

A network processing system is described that functions as a policy gateway in order to enforce programmable network policies designed to provide quality of service in and across networks. The programmable network policies are converted into an image load file using a management interface at a remote server, and sent to the network processing system where the image is loaded into a processing engine. The network processing system includes line interfaces to take the data from the network and to send processed data back onto the network. Unidirectional processing engines take the data from the line interfaces, and associate each data packet with an identifier, which identifies the flow of which the data packet is a part. The flows are then compared to the database of programmable network policies and the processing engine determines a treatment based on the results of the comparison. A quality of service processor in the processing engine then uses the treatment to modify and direct the data packets in a manner consistent with the network policies.

Policy gateway

A method and device for detecting and inoculating emails infected with viruses are described. The method involves identifying a particular traffic and its associated data packets as an email session and scanning the associated data packets in order to compare their contents with a database of known signatures. If a match is found between the data packets and a signature of a known virus, it is determined if there is an attachment to the email. If an attachment is detected, some or all of the bits of the data packets associated with the attachment are altered, thereby rendering the infected attachment harmless. The network device includes memory for storing the database of known signatures and a content processor able to compare the contents of data packets with a database of known signatures. The content processor is also operable to alter some or all of the bits of the attachment to inoculate the email and attachment.

Method and device for innoculating email infected with a virus

A content aware network device is described that is able to scan the contents of entire data packets including header and payload information. The network device includes a physical interface for converting analog network signal into bit streams and vise versa. The bit stream from the physical interface is sent to a traffic flow scanning processor that may be, but is not necessarily, divided into a header processor and a payload analyzer. The header processor scans the header information from each data packet, which is used to determine routing information and session identification. The payload analyzer scans the data packet's payload and matches the payload against a database of known strings. The payload analyzer is able to scan across packet boundaries and to scan for strings of variable and arbitrary length. Once the payload has been scanned the network device can operate on the data packet based on the results of the payload analyzer. The scanned data packets and the associated conclusions are then passed to a quality of service processor which modifies the data packets if necessary and performs traffic management and traffic shaping on the flow of data packets based on contents of the data packets.

Growing community of inventors

Plano, TX, United States of America

Mark Warden Hervin