Patent ID: 7356027

Claim:
A system for decoding the packet streams of computer networks and identifying applications generating the packet streams, the system comprising: a. a plurality of static data stores containing instructions for decoding a packet to identify the application, transactions and parameters, wherein said plurality of static data stores further comprise: i) an Application ID Hash Table that contains a mapping of destination port numbers to corresponding applications; and ii) an Expression Action Table that contains instructions to be executed on the packets for decoding; b. a plurality of dynamic data stores for maintaining information related to the current state of the decode process, wherein said dynamic data stores includes: i) a Session Cache Table that contains information regarding the currently active sessions; ii) an Application Instance Table that contains information regarding the current state of the decode process for the currently active applications; and iii) a Session Correlation Table that maintains information regarding news sessions that are related to currently active sessions; c. a means for receiving packets and for identifying the session to which the packets belong; and d. a means for decoding transactions and parameters of the application and for sending the decoded information with the packet out of the system.