Patent ID: 7983291

Claim:
A network device for processing data on a data network, the network device comprising: a port interface, in communication with a plurality of ports, configured to receive data packets from a data network and to send processed data packets to the data network; a memory management unit, in communication with and controlling memory, configured to store data on and retrieve data from the memory; and a parser, in communication with the port interface and the memory management unit, configured to parse the received data packets to determine attributes of the received data packets and to modify data packets retrieved from the memory, based on the determined attributes, to produce the processed data packets; wherein the parser is configured to modify the retrieved data packets on a cell basis, through addition, subtraction and substitution of cells of the retrieved data packets, where each cell of the cells has a predetermined bit-length, and wherein the parser preserves several time-delayed packet sections to allow for realignment of portions of the retrieved data packets that become misaligned due to the addition, subtraction and substitution of the cells of the retrieved data packets.