Method and Apparatus for Specifying IP Termination in a Network Element

Abstract

IP applications may be hosted on processors other than the processor on which their associated routing entity is hosted by causing the routing context to be extended to the new processor and causing IP termination to occur at the new processor. Applications may define policies specifying packet attributes and actions to be taken on matching packets, so that packets matching the policy may be directed to a processor hosting the application rather than a processor hosting the routing entity. A steering policy manager may be implemented to receive policies from the applications, verify the policy format and uniqueness vis-à-vis previously implemented policies, and implement the policies by passing the policies to one or more steering policy agents. Filters may be programmed into the data plane or the control plane to cause IP termination to occur on the processor hosting the application.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 241,612, filed Sep. 30, 2005, the content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]This application relates to network elements and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for specifying the manner in which IP termination should occur in a network element.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Data communication networks may include many switches, routers, and other devices coupled to and configured to pass data to one another. These devices will be referred to herein as “network elements”. Data is communicated through the data communication network by passing protocol data units, such as frames, packets, cells, or segments, between the network elements by utilizing one or more communication links. A particular protocol data unit may be handled by multiple network elements and cross multiple communication links as...

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