Patent ID: 8599687

Claim:
A device, comprising: a first number of network processors coupled to a network for receiving network traffic; a second number of application processors that are each adapted to perform deep-packet processing on the network traffic received by the one or more network processor, a configuration table that identifies a first group of the application processors for handling network traffic having a first attribute, and identifies a second different group of the application processors for handling network traffic having a second different attribute, wherein at least one of the first or second groups includes a plurality of application processors; an interface that allows an administrator to change the identities of the first and second groups of processors in the configuration table, thereby dynamically changing handling of network traffic having the first and second different attributes by the device; a control processor coupled to a primary one of the network processors, wherein the control processor receives the configuration table and thereby causes the network processors to forward the received network traffic to the application processors in accordance with the configuration table; and a communication protocol signal exchanged between the application processors to control deep-packet processing on the network traffic.