Centralized tcp termination with multi-service chaining

Abstract

A network element having centralized TCP termination with multi-service chaining is described herein. According to one embodiment, a network element includes a switch fabric, a first service module coupled to the switch fabric, and a second and a third service modules coupled to the first service module over the switch fabric. In response to packets of a network transaction received from a client over a first network for access a server of a data center having multiple servers over a second network, the first service module is configured to terminate a TCP connection of the packets. The TCP terminated packets are transmitted to the second and third service modules over the switch fabric. The second and third service modules are configured to perform different application network services on the TCP terminated packets without having to perform a TCP process again. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.