Patent ID: 8583800

Claim:
An Internet Protocol (IP) service processing switch comprising: a plurality of service blades each having a plurality of processors including their own central processing unit (CPU) and memory, the plurality of processors providing customized security services to a plurality of subscribers of a service provider by (i) creating software entities, in a form of object groups within a plurality of virtual routers (VRs) executing on the plurality of processors, in accordance with security service needs of respective subscribers of the plurality of subscribers, (ii) assigning logical queue identifiers (LQIDs) to each of the software entities and (iii) assigning processor element identifiers (PEIDs) to each of the processors of the plurality of processors based on a processor element number of the processor and a blade ID of a service blade of the plurality of service blades with which the processor is associated, that is unique within the IP service processing switch; one or more packet-passing data rings coupling the plurality of service blades in communication; and wherein upon a service blade of the plurality of blades receiving a packet from the one or more packet-passing data rings, the service blade inspects a PEID value within the packet and when the PEID value corresponds to a PEID assigned to a processor of the plurality of processors on the service blade, the packet is steered to a software entity of a VR of the plurality of VR on the processor that corresponds to an LQID value within the packet, and when the PEID value does not correspond to any PEIDs assigned to the plurality of processors on the service blade, the packet is passed to a next service blade of the plurality of service blades on the one or more packet-passing data rings.