Patent ID: 9699057
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method of handling packets, the method comprising: receiving, from a first network device, one or more non-diagnostic application packets and a first diagnostic packet at a layer 3 handler in a second network device, wherein the one or more non-diagnostic application packets and the first diagnostic packet utilize a same networking path; delivering, by the layer 3 handler, the one or more non-diagnostic application packets to an application within the second network device; determining, by the layer 3 handler, whether the first diagnostic packet is a diagnostic request packet by examining bit patterns of the first diagnostic packet; determining, by the layer 3 handler, when the first diagnostic packet is a diagnostic request packet, whether the application can handle diagnostic request packets; delivering, by the layer 3 handler, the first diagnostic packet to the application for handling in response to determining that the first diagnostic packet is a diagnostic request packet and that the application can handle diagnostic request packets; receiving, by the layer 3 handler, one or more response packets from the application, the one or more response packets including information related to a working status of the application; and returning, by the layer 3 handler, the one or more response packets to the first network device.