Patent ID: 7738380

Claim:
A machine implemented method for processing network data packets, comprising: in response to packets received at a network access device from a first network node over a first network destined to a second network node over a second network, determining whether the packets need to be modified based on one or more policies associated with the packets maintained by the network access device, wherein the packets are out-of-order network packets transmitted from the first network node; passing the packets to the second network node without buffering the packets within the network access device if the packets do not need to be modified; and if the packets need to be modified, storing the packets in a buffer within the network access device before sending the packets to the second network node, modifying payloads of the packets stored in the buffer, and transmitting the packets with the modified payloads to the second network node, wherein original packets without modified are not transmitted to the second network node.