Abstract: A system and method for facilitating packet transformation of multi-protocol, multi-flow, streaming data. Packet portions subject to change are temporarily stored, and acted upon through processing of protocol-dependent instructions, resulting in a protocol-dependent modification of the temporarily stored packet information. Validity tags are associated with different segments of the temporarily-stored packet, where the state of each tag determines whether its corresponding packet segment will form part of the resulting modified packet. Only those packet segments identified as being part of the resulting modified packet are reassembled prior to dispatch of the packet.

Abstract: A system and method for policing individual flows and subflows of a data stream. Data traffic streams are classified into separate traffic flows, which in turn can be further classified into subflows, thereby providing for different priority levels of subsets of the flow. The subflows may be still further classified into additional subflows, creating a hierarchical, layered prioritization that can be metered at each vertical and horizontal level of the hierarchy. A packet flow rate of each of the subflows is compared to a predefined rate limit to allow subflows of a flow to have different priorities therebetween.

Abstract: A multi-protocol, multi-stage, real-time frame classifier is disclosed. A preliminary multi-protocol frame composition analyzer is provided for performing preliminary multi-protocol frame classification for incoming frames. A parsing instruction generator is provided for processing at least the incoming frame and the preliminary multi-protocol frame classification to provide parsing instructions. A multi-stage parsing engine provides multi-stage parsing of the incoming frame according to the parsing instructions to generate search results presenting information about the incoming frame. An advanced level of data extraction is provided across various frame protocols without imposing a performance penalty. Longest prefix match searches and/or direct lookup searches are supported. Moreover, conditional extractions, instruction branching, multi-stage processing are all performed in real time.