Patent ID: 9444785
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method of transparently interfacing a first application to a network, the method comprising: interfacing between the network and a first application network interface of the first application, the first application being provided by a first application service provider and operative to provide a first service via the interfacing, the first application network interface being capable of connecting the first application to the network, the network carrying a plurality of packets in a first format incompatible with the first application, each packet of the plurality of packets being transmitted, via the network, by a source to at least one intended destination intended by the source, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising routing data operative to cause the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the network comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being from the source to the interfacing, the second portion being from the interfacing to the at least one intended destination, the first portion being different than the second portion; intercepting each packet of at least a portion of the plurality of packets received via the first portion prior to a forwarding thereof toward the at least one intended destination via the second portion; evaluating each of the intercepted packets based on a first specification of a first subset of the plurality of packets with respect to which the first application is to perform the first service; and converting an intercepted packet from the first format to a second format compatible with the first application and incompatible with the first and second portions of the network, storing information representative thereof and providing the converted intercepted packet to the first application via the first application network interface to facilitate the performance of the first service with respect to the intercepted packet, if the intercepted packet is one of the specified first subset; receiving in response to the providing of the converted intercepted packet to the first application, from the first application via the first application interface when the performance of the first service results in a response, a response packet in the second format resulting from the performance of the first service by the first application with respect to the provided converted intercepted packet; converting the response packet from the second format to the first format based on the stored information; and forwarding the converted response packet to the network, towards the at least one intended destination, wherein the first service provided by the first application is a service other than causing of the forwarding of the packet via the network towards the at least one intended destination, the first application and the first service provided thereby being separate from the at least one intended destination intended by the source and being independent of the converting.