Patent ID: 8488456
Filing Date: 2013-07-16
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of routing IP packet flows, the method comprising: receiving, by an Ethernet switch that is coupled to a load balancing control engine, an IP packet flow, wherein the IP packet flow is a series of packets, wherein each of the packets in the IP packet flow has a header that contains a same 5-tuple, wherein the same 5-tuple comprises a source internet protocol (IP) address, a source port number, a destination IP address, a destination port number, and a protocol number that describes what protocol is being used to direct and control each packet in the IP packet flow, and wherein the Ethernet switch routes packets of the IP packet flow to servers from multiple server groups, wherein the multiple server groups comprise a firewall server group, an intrusion detection system (IDS) server group, and an anti-virus application server group, and wherein the IP packet flow is redirected to sequentially pass through the firewall server group, followed by the IDS server group, followed by the anti-virus application server group; determining, by the load balancing control engine, whether the servers are balanced in their utilization according to 5-tuple redirection rules contained in the load balancing control engine; and in response to the load balancing control engine determining that the servers are unbalanced, the load balancing control engine instructing the Ethernet switch to redirect the IP packet flow to a server that is relatively less busy than other servers.