Patent ID: 8000329

Claim:
A platform for performing processing of packets at the edge of a network, the platform comprising: a plurality of service cards of a forwarding plane, each service card configured to execute at least one application; a programmable service path structure, that maps a logical path for processing of the packets through one or more of the plurality of service cards according to characteristics of the packets; a plurality of input/output (I/O) cards, each I/O card configured to route packets from an ingress or to an egress of the platform; a fabric including a plurality of input and output ports configured to physically route the packets between one or more of the plurality of I/O cards and one or more of the plurality of service cards according to the programmable service path structure; and a control plane coupled to the forwarding plane, the control plane comprising at least one feature server configured to execute one or more customer-configured applications and to modify the programmable service path structure.