Patent ID: 8040886

Claim:
A method for classifying packets in an intermediate node, the method comprising the steps of: generating a first rule and first criterion using information associated with a packet at an initial classification stage of a classification engine in the node, wherein the first rule includes an indication of a first criteria used to determine if the first rule is satisfied, and wherein the first criterion includes a first value derived from the information associated with the packet and that is to be compared to the first criteria; applying the first rule and first criterion to a first intermediate classification stage of the engine that includes one or more content addressable storage memories (CAMs) to generate a second rule and a second criterion, wherein the second rule includes an indication of a second criteria used to determine if the second rule is satisfied, and wherein the second criterion includes a second value to be compared to the second criteria; generating a final rule using one or more additional intermediate classification stages of the engine using the second rule and the second criterion, wherein the final rule includes an indication of a third criteria used to determine if the final rule is satisfied; generating an identifier associated with the packet at a final classification stage of the engine using the final rule; and using the identifier to classify the packet.