Hi/fn Inc.

Xaqti, Corporation

Apptitude, Inc.

William H Bares

Russell S Dietz

James F Torgerson

Haig A Sarkissian

Andrew A Koppenhaver

Joseph R Maixner

Namakkal S Sambamurthy

Alak K Deb

A monitor for and a method of examining packets passing through a connection point on a computer network. Each packets conforms to one or more protocols. The method includes receiving a packet from a packet acquisition device and performing one or more parsing/extraction operations on the packet to create a parser record comprising a function of selected portions of the packet. The parsing/extraction operations depend on one or more of the protocols to which the packet conforms. The method further includes looking up a flow-entry database containing flow-entries for previously encountered conversational flows. The lookup uses the selected packet portions and determining if the packet is of an existing flow. If the packet is of an existing flow, the method classifies the packet as belonging to the found existing flow, and if the packet is of a new flow, the method stores a new flow-entry for the new flow in the flow-entry database, including identifying information for future packets to be identified with the new flow-entry. For the packet of an existing flow, the method updates the flow-entry of the existing flow. Such updating may include storing one or more statistical measures. Any stage of a flow, state is maintained, and the method performs any state processing for an identified state to further the process of identifying the flow. The method thus examines each and every packet passing through the connection point in real time until the application program associated with the conversational flow is determined.

Method and apparatus for monitoring traffic in a network

Disclosed are methods and apparatus for processing packet data received from a physical layer. The processing is performed in-line while streaming packets to an upper layer. The method includes loading an instruction set for custom programming the processing of packet data received from the physical layer. Determining a type of packet data received from the physical layer. Identifying a first word location in the packet data based on the contents of the instruction set. Examining the packet data received from the physical layer at the first identified word location. The method further includes storing an element indicative of information contained in the first identified word location into a data structure, and appending the data structure to the packet data before the packet is streamed to the upper layer. The methods and apparatus also have direct applicability to reducing a CPU's work load during transmissions of data over a network.

Media access control micro-RISC stream processor and method for implementing the same

Growing community of inventors

Germantown, TN, United States of America

William H Bares