Patent ID: 9252972
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: detecting, with a flow control unit of a data plane within a router, a new packet flow; accessing, with a policy engine of a control plane within the router, a plurality of policies stored within a policy database within the control plane within the router to determine whether one or more of the policies stored within the policy database within the control plane within the router specify criteria that match attributes of the new packet flow; outputting, in response to failing to identify in the policy database within the control plane within the router the one or more policies that specify criteria that match attributes of the new packet flow, a message from the control plane within the router to a policy server external to the router to request a policy from the policy server, wherein outputting the message comprises constructing the message with the control plane within the router to conform to a software defined networking (SDN) protocol as if the data plane within the router were directly exposed to an external device by the SDN protocol; receiving, with the control plane within the router, a response message from the policy server, wherein the response message conforms to the SDN protocol and specifies at least one new policy; and installing the policy within the policy database within the control plane within the router.