Patent ID: 7729279

Claim:
A traffic analyzing system for performing traffic analysis of packets on a communications link connecting a plurality of networks, the system comprising: a plurality of analyzer circuits connected to each other by a plurality of links, each of which has a data rate lower than a data rate of said communications link; and wherein the analyzer circuits are configured for performing different levels of analysis on packets travelling along said communications link, wherein information extracted from the packets analyzed at a first level of analysis by a first analyzer circuit is forwarded to a second level of analysis performed at a second analyzer circuit, the second level comprising at least two analyzers arranged to perform parallel analysis, and wherein the additional analysis performed by the second analyzer circuit depends on the analysis performed by the first analyzer circuit, wherein the first and second analyzer circuits configured for performing respective different levels of analysis comprise lower and higher level analyzer circuits, respectively, wherein the lower level analyzer circuit is configured to perform an explicit level of analysis, while the higher level analyzer circuit is configured to perform an implicit level of analysis, wherein the implicit level of analysis comprises recognizing the presence of a protocol, which is not readily identifiable in a definite manner by a protocol header, which precedes this protocol in a protocol stack, wherein the explicit level of analysis comprises recognizing the presence of a protocol, which is readily identifiable in a definite manner by a protocol header, which precedes this protocol in the protocol stack.