Efficient packet forwarding using cyber-security aware policies

A method of processing a plurality of flows, the method comprising:

• computing, by a first processing element within a plurality of processing elements, an index into a structure stored in memory, the index being based on, at least in part, a unique ID of the flow and a property of the structure;
• storing by the first processing element, a value in the structure at the location identified by the index, if a specified condition associated with the flow is satisfied, the storing step being an atomic operation, and the stored value corresponding to the unique flow ID;
• computing, by a second processing element within the plurality of processing elements, a value corresponding to the unique flow ID and the index;
• comparing by the second processing element the computed value with the value stored at the location identified by the index;
• and
• controlling, by the second processing element, processing of the flow based on, at least in part, a result of the comparison.

A system for processing a plurality of flows, the system comprising:

• a plurality of processing elements;
• and
• a memory,
• a first processing element within the plurality of processing elements being configured to:
• compute an index into a structure stored in the memory, the index being based on, at least in part, a unique ID of the flow and a property of the structure;
• store via an atomic operation, a value in the structure at the location identified by the index, if a specified condition associated with the flow is satisfied, the stored value corresponding to the unique flow ID;
• and
• a second processing element within the plurality of processing elements being configured to:
• compute a value corresponding to the unique flow ID and the index;
• compare the computed value with the value stored at the location identified by the index;
• and
• control processing of the flow based on, at least in part, a result of the comparison.

An article of manufacture, comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a machine, configure a system, the system comprising:

• (i) a plurality of processing elements, and (ii) a memory, the instructions configuring:
• a first processing element within the plurality of processing elements to:
• compute an index into a structure stored in the memory, the index being based on, at least in part, a unique ID of the flow and a property of the structure;
• store via an atomic operation, a value in the structure at the location identified by the index, if a specified condition associated with the flow is satisfied, the stored value corresponding to the unique flow ID;
• and
• a second processing element within the plurality of processing elements to:
• compute a value corresponding to the unique flow ID and the index;
• compare the computed value with the value stored at the location identified by the index;
• and
• control processing of the flow based on, at least in part, a result of the comparison.