System and methods for supporting multiple management interfaces using a network analytics engine of a network switch

A switch, comprising:

• a processor;
• a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by the processor,
• the instructions programming the processor to:
• receive a first list including a first set of network packet parameters,
• wherein the first set of network packet parameters are usable for monitoring network traffic in accordance with a first monitoring criteria;
• receive a second list including a second set of network packet parameters,
• wherein the second set of network parameters are usable for monitoring network traffic in accordance with a second monitoring criteria that is different from the first monitoring criteria;
• and
• determine a sequential order for arranging the first list with respect to the second list during a concatenation,
• wherein the sequential order is designated by a sorting rule that assigns a priority to each of the first list and the second list;
• generate a concatenated list by concatenating the first set of network parameters and the second set of network parameters in a manner that forms a single set included in the concatenated list,
• wherein the concatenating comprises linking the first set of network parameters of the first list with the second set of network parameters of the second list in an order consistent with the determined sequential order and based on the priority assigned to the first list and the priority assigned to the second list;
• monitor the network traffic through the switch by identifying one or more packets in the network traffic corresponding to the first monitoring criteria and corresponding to the second monitoring criteria;
• program a single hardware lookup of the switch with the concatenated list such that monitoring network traffic is performed in accordance with the first monitoring criteria associated with the first list and the second monitoring criteria associated with the second list;
• store the first list in an Open vSwitch Database (OVSDB), including a first time-based identifier associated with the time which the first list was stored;
• store the second list in the OVSDB, including a second time-based identifier associated with the time which the second list was stored;
• sort the first time-based identifier and the second time-based identifier based on a chronological order;
• assign a high priority to either the first list or the second list corresponding to the respective text-based identifier that is sorted higher in the lexicographical order;
• and
• assign a low priority to either the first list or the second list corresponding to the respective text-based identifier that is sorted lower in the lexicographical order.