Method of and system for analyzing the content of resource requests

A method, performed in, by or for a processor, of determining cookie information from an analysis of content of a resource request, the method comprising:

• accessing a content addressable memory (CAM) database associating values of a key with a cookie processing mode via an indicator of a desired class of service for the resource request as the key to accessing the CAM database;
• obtaining a matching database entry from the accessed CAM database associating values of the key;
• and
• determining the cookie processing mode for the request from the matching entry;
• locating a cookie in the resource request, wherein the cookie is an item of state-related information for insertion into an http object;
• and
• processing a cookie value for the cookie in accordance with the determined cookie processing mode to obtain the cookie information, wherein the cookie information represents a cookie identifier useful for identifying whether a connection exists or recently expired between a client which issued the resource request and a server which originated the cookie.

A system for processing a resource request comprising:

• a content addressable memory (CAM) database for associating cookie names with resource requests, and for further associating cookie names with a desired class of service for the resource requests;
• a cookie engine configured to:
• access the CAM database to identify an entry in the CAM database matching a desired class of service for the resource request via an indicator of the desired class of service for the resource request as a key to accessing the CAM database, wherein the resource request being an unencrypted resource request,
• determine a cookie name associated with the unencrypted resource request,
• locate a cookie in the unencrypted resource request with the cookie name, wherein the cookie is an item of state-related information for insertion into an http object, and
• obtain the cookie information from a cookie value associated with the cookie in the unencrypted resource request, wherein the cookie information represents a cookie identifier useful for identifying whether a connection exists or recently expired between a client which issued the resource request and a server which originated the cookie;
• and
• a session engine coupled with the cookie engine and configured to:
• obtain a session identifier from a handshake message associated with a resource request, the resource request being an encrypted resource request, and
• obtain the session information from the session identifier associated with the encrypted resource request.

A system for obtaining cookie information from a resource request comprising:

• a content addressable memory (CAM) database associating cookie processing modes with desired classes of service for resource requests;
• and
• a cookie engine for accessing the database to identify an entry in the CAM database matching a desired class of service for the resource request via an indicator of the desired class of service for the resource request as a key to accessing the CAM database, and for determining therefrom a cookie processing mode associated with the resource request, locating a cookie within the resource request, and processing a cookie value for the cookie in accordance with the cookie processing mode to obtain the cookie information, wherein the cookie is an item of state-related information for insertion into an http object, and
• wherein the cookie information represents a cookie identifier useful for identifying whether a connection exists or recently expired between a client which issued the resource request and a server which originated the cookie.