Nicira, Inc.

Vmware, Inc.

Pravin Shelar

Jarno Rajahalme

Jesse Ernest Gross, Iv

Some embodiments provide a forwarding element that parses a packet to selectively extract a set of header field values for a flow key. The forwarding element then uses the flow key to find a matching flow to process the packet. In some embodiments, the forwarding element chooses the set of header values following the match pattern of a set of one or more flows. The forwarding element of some embodiments chooses the set of header values based on a wildcard mask that is associated with a flow entry or a flow table mask that is associated with a flow table.

Packet key parser for flow-based forwarding elements

Some embodiments provide a method for a managed forwarding element. The method receives a set of packets for processing by the managed forwarding element. For each of several packets in the set, the method associates the packet with one of several groups of other packets in the set. Each group of packets shares a set of characteristics. For each group of packets the method identifies a set of actions to perform and executes the specified set of actions on all of the packets in the group together.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Pravin Shelar