Patent ID: 8031709
Filing Date: 2011-10-04
Classification: H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of processing data from a network, the method comprising: identifying, from a value at a fixed location in a frame, a type of encapsulation of data in the frame; extracting, in hardware, a plurality of attributes of the frame from a corresponding plurality of locations in the frame based on the type of encapsulation; wherein at least one attribute being extracted is at different locations in frames of different types of encapsulation; generating a key, in hardware, by use of a group of attributes that are pre-selected by a user, from among the plurality of attributes; wherein each attribute in the group is pre-selected by the user symbolically, without specifying a corresponding location in the frame for each type of encapsulation; reading memory, using at least the key and a parameter, to identify a plurality of instructions, the parameter specifying a type of database to be searched by the key, among multiple types of databases, said parameter being specified by user configuration of a search operation to be performed with the key; and executing at least one instruction, identified by use of the key, to process the frame.