Patent ID: 7451216
Filing Date: 2008-11-11
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A content intelligent network recognition system for use in analyzing and evaluating data communicated through a first data network and a second data network, the content intelligent network recognition system comprising: an input interface in communication with the first data network and the second data network, the input interface operable to receive a plurality of protocol data units transmitted from the first data network and the second data network; a buffer operable to receive and store the plurality of protocol data units provided through the input interface from the first data network and the second data network; a rule/policy database configured to store rules and policies used in analyzing and evaluating the plurality of protocol data units; a network processing unit that includes a plurality of parallel processing elements, each processing element operable to receive a copy of at least a portion of a protocol data unit from the plurality of protocol data units stored in the buffer, and to analyze and evaluate the copy of at least a portion of the protocol data unit using the rules and policies of the rule/policy database to determine an action, wherein the rule/policy database is organized as a tree structure that includes various nodes, the various nodes provided as a portion of the rule/policy database used by the plurality of parallel processing elements to determine the action; a state machine operable to track the relative order that the plurality of protocol data units transmitted from the first data network and the second data network are received, the state machine operable to initiate an action on a protocol data unit stored in the buffer as determined by the processing element of the network processing unit that analyzed and evaluated the copy of at least a portion of the protocol data unit stored in the buffer; and an output interface in communication with the first data network and the second data network, the output interface operable to communicate the plurality of protocol data units stored in the buffer and received from the first data network to the second data network, and to communicate the plurality of protocol data units stored in the buffer and received from the second data network to the first data network; wherein the first data network and the second data network are portions of the same data network, and the content intelligent network recognition system is provided at a node between the first data network portion and the second data network portion of the same data network.