Microsoft patents chip that sorts network traffic before it hits the main processor
Microsoft has been granted a patent for a method that moves the job of inspecting data packets from the main computer processor to the network interface card. The card uses a configuration file to look for specific details in incoming data and matches them against a list to identify the type of traffic. This allows the system to handle network tasks more efficiently by doing the initial sorting at the hardware level.
In the filing’s own words
The techniques disclosed herein enable systems to offload deep packet inspection tasks to a network interface card. This is accomplished by configuring the network interface card with a configuration file. The configuration file identifies target protocols, target fields, a number of packets to analyze for each target protocol, as well as identification tables that enable the network interface card to identify packet attributes. Once configured, the network interface card can receive and analyze incoming network packets. Accordingly, the network interface card extracts and parses values represented by the network packet in accordance with the parameters of the configuration file. The extracted values are compared against the entries of the identification table to derive an attribute identifier which can be returned to a network protocol stack. Moreover, the configuration file can also provide support for standard and non-standard network protocols.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method for offloading identification of an attribute of a network flow to a network interface card configured to process network traffic in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: receiving, by the network interface card, a configuration file identifying a target protocol and an identifier of a target field of a network packet of the network flow wherein the configuration file configures the network interface card to identify the attribute of the network flow; receiving, by the network interface card, the network flow containing the network packet, the network packet containing data defining characteristics of the network flow; extracting, by the network interface card, a value of the target field from the data of the network packet in accordance with the target protocol and the identifier of the target field identified by the configuration file; matching, by the network interface card, the value of the target field to an entry of an identification table defined by the configuration file to derive an identification of the attribute of the network flow, wherein the identification table defined by the configuration file is operable to match field values for target protocols to attribute identifiers; returning, by the network interface card, the identification of the attribute derived from the entry of the identification table; and executing an action on the network flow based on the identification of the attribute.
Facts
- Company
- Microsoft (MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC)
- Official title
- Offloading packet inspection tasks to a network interface card
- Patent number
- US12732514B2
- Application number
- 18528647
- Filed
- Dec 4, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 8, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04L 63/1416 Electricity & electronicsH04L 69/22 Electricity & electronicsMore from Microsoft in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.