Abstract: This is invention comprises a method and apparatus for Infinite Network Packet Capture System (INPCS). The INPCS is a high performance data capture recorder capable of capturing and archiving all network traffic present on a single network or multiple networks. This device can be attached to Ethernet networks via copper or SX fiber via either a SPAN port (101) router configuration or via an optical splitter (102). By this method, multiple sources or network traffic including gigabit Ethernet switches (102) may provide parallelized data feeds to the capture appliance (104), effectively increasing collective data capture capacity. Multiple captured streams are merged into a consolidated time indexed capture stream to support asymmetrically routed network traffic as well as other merged streams for external consumption.

Abstract: This is invention comprises a method and apparatus for Infinite Network Packet Capture System (INPCS). The INPCS is a high performance data capture recorder capable of capturing and archiving all network traffic present on a single network or multiple networks. This device can be attached to Ethernet networks via copper or SX fiber via either a SPAN port (101) router configuration or via an optical splitter (102). By this method, multiple sources or network traffic including gigabit Ethernet switches (102) may provide parallelized data feeds to the capture appliance (104), effectively increasing collective data capture capacity. Multiple captured streams are merged into a consolidated time indexed capture stream to support asymmetrically routed network traffic as well as other merged streams for external consumption.

Abstract: This is invention comprises a method and apparatus for Infinite Network Packet Capture System (INPCS). The INPCS is a high performance data capture recorder capable of capturing and archiving all network traffic present on a single network or multiple networks. This device can be attached to Ethernet networks via copper or SX fiber via either a SPAN port (101) router configuration or via an optical splitter (102). By this method, multiple sources or network traffic including gigabit Ethernet switches (102) may provide parallelized data feeds to the capture appliance (104), effectively increasing collective data capture capacity. Multiple captured streams are merged into a consolidated time indexed capture stream to support asymmetrically routed network traffic as well as other merged streams for external consumption.

Abstract: This is invention comprises a method and apparatus for Infinite Network Packet Capture System (INPCS). The INPCS is a high performance data capture recorder capable of capturing and archiving all network traffic present on a single network or multiple networks. This device can be attached to Ethernet networks via copper or SX fiber via either a SPAN port (101) router configuration or via an optical splitter (102). By this method, multiple sources or network traffic including gigabit Ethernet switches (102) may provide parallelized data feeds to the capture appliance (104), effectively increasing collective data capture capacity. Multiple captured streams are merged into a consolidated time indexed capture stream to support asymmetrically routed network traffic as well as other merged streams for external consumption.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for scheduling threads on a multiprocessor utilize an unlocked local queue for each processor in the multiprocessor and a lockable global dispatch queue accessible by all processors. Threads are selected for movement from the unlocked local queue to the global dispatch queue only when the unlocked local queue contains too many threads that are waiting for a processor. Threads are selected to run on an available processor only after repeated checks to make certain no threads in the processor's unlocked local queue should be run first. As a result, threads assigned to a processor tend to stay with that processor unless the system load is severely unbalanced, thereby improving system performance by increasing cache hits and decreasing lock assertions.