Patent ID: 8312148

Claim:
A method, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: intercepting, at a network element, one or more data packets comprising network layer or transport layer headers having an address of a destination that differs from the network element; determining whether information contained in one or more layer 2-4 headers of the one or more data packet satisfies specified criteria; in response to determining that the information satisfies the specified criteria, directing the one or more data packets to a blade of the network element that performs processing based on at least a portion of an application layer message that is at least partially contained in the one or more data packets; wherein the application layer message comprises a multi-part MIME message, and wherein processing at least a portion of the application layer message includes handling each part of the multi-part MIME message separately from each other part; in response to determining that the information does not satisfy the specified criteria, forwarding the one or more data packets towards the destination without sending the one or more data packets to the blade.