Patent ID: 9692857
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: at a network device, receiving a packet that includes a plurality of sets of header fields; parsing the packet to sequentially obtain the plurality of sets of header fields; predicting, based on a received first set of header fields made available at the network device, a predicted second set of header fields before a received second set of header fields is made available at the network device; and generating a network processing decision for the packet based on the first set of header fields and the predicted second set of header fields before the received second set of header fields is made available at the network device, wherein generating the network processing decision comprises selecting for use as a second network processing decision result either a predicted second network processing decision that is based on the first set of header fields or an actual second network processing decision that is based on the network processing decision and the received second set of header fields.