Apparatus and method for enabling voice over IP support for a network switch

A method for switching VOIP packets, said method comprising the steps of:

• filtering packets received in a network switch to trap at least one VOIP call setup message;
• determining a dynamically negotiated VOIP port;
• filtering all subsequent packets associated with the dynamically negotiated VOIP port;
• classifying all subsequent packets corresponding to the dynamically negotiated VOIP port in accordance with predetermined parameters and associating a priority with the subsequent packets to avoid network congestion;
• and
• taking predefined filtering actions upon the subsequent packets;
• wherein the steps of filtering packets and determining the dynamically negotiated VOIP port further comprises generating a filter corresponding to the dynamically negotiated VOIP port and storing the generated filter in a filter table associated with a fast filtering processor.

A network switch for switching VOIP packets, said network switch comprising:

• at least one data port interface controller supporting a plurality of data ports for transmitting and receiving data;
• a fast filtering processor in communication with the at least one data port interface;
• and
• at least one filtering table in communication with the fast filtering processor,
• wherein the fast filtering processor is configured to snoop packets being transmitted through the network switch to trap a VOIP call setup message, and thereafter, determine a dynamically negotiated VOIP port so that all subsequent VOIP packets can be filtered and assigned an appropriate priority.

A method for switching VOIP packets in a data network, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a first packet in a network switch;
• determining if the first packet is a VOIP packet;
• determining a dynamically negotiated VOIP port for a VOIP session from at least one of the first packet and a second packet received in the network switch, if the first packet is determined to be the VOIP packet;
• and
• classifying all subsequent VOIP packets corresponding to the dynamically negotiated VOIP port in accordance with predetermined parameters and associating a priority with the subsequent packets to avoid network congestion;
• wherein said steps of determining if the first packet is a VOIP packet, determining a dynamically negotiated VOIP port, and classifying subsequent VOIP packets are performed in a filtering step by a fast filtering processor;
• and
• wherein said filtering step further comprises,
• applying a filter mask to a header of a packet;
• extracting unmasked information;
• comparing the unmasked information to a filtering table;
• and
• executing predetermined filtering actions based upon the comparison to the filtering table.

A method for switching VOIP packets in a data network, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a first packet in a network switch;
• determining if the first packet is a VOIP packet;
• determining a dynamically negotiated VOIP port for a VOIP session from at least one of the first packet and a second packet received in the network switch, if the first packet is determined to be the VOIP packet;
• and
• classifying all subsequent VOIP packets corresponding to the dynamically negotiated VOIP port in accordance with predetermined parameters and associating a priority with the subsequent packets to avoid network congestion;
• wherein the step of determining if the first packet is a VOIP packet further comprises the steps of,
• applying a filter mask to the packet header;
• comparing unmasked information from the header to entries in a filter table to determine a match;
• and
• determining if a VOIP well known port is contained in the packet header.