Patent ID: 9237082
Filing Date: 2016-01-12
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: receiving user-specified criteria for a packet; creating, based on the user-specified criteria, the packet at a network device; storing the packet at a memory location in the network device; creating a packet descriptor based on the packet, the packet descriptor being separate from the packet and including a pointer to the memory location, the packet descriptor also storing routing information specifying a source and destination for the packet; setting a trace indicator in the packet descriptor; and responsive to the setting of the trace indicator and while the packet is stored in the network device, tracing an actual path within the network device of the packet descriptor at least in part by making plural log entries indicating locations within the network device of the packet descriptor and indicating respective times the packet descriptor was at the locations within the network device, each log entry of the plural log entries specifying a respective location of the locations along the actual path within the network device at which a presence of the packet descriptor was detected.