Apparatus and method for network traffic classification and policy enforcement

A method, comprising:

• receiving, by an input port connected to a bus, inbound network traffic;
• conveying, by an output port connected to the bus, outbound network traffic;
• constructing, by a first set of processor cores, a first network traffic tree characterizing the inbound network traffic and a second network traffic tree characterizing the outbound network traffic, where the first and second network traffic trees characterize at least one traffic type and at least one traffic rate, and where the first and second network traffic trees are different from each other with respect to at least one traffic type or at least one traffic rate;
• enforcing, by a second set of processor cores, one or more network traffic policies utilizing at least one of the first and second network traffic trees constructed by the first set of processor cores;
• and
• wherein a processor complex connected to the bus is configured as a pipeline with individual processor cores assigned individual network traffic processing tasks, the pipeline including the first set of processor cores and the second set of processor cores.

A system, comprising:

• a bus;
• an input port connected to the bus to receive inbound network traffic;
• an output port connected to the bus to convey outbound network traffic;
• a router connected to at least one of the input port and the output port, where the router is configured to communicate with the internet;
• a switch connected to at least one of the input port and the output port, where the switch is configured to communicate with a local area network;
• and
• a processor complex connected to the bus, the processor complex configured as a pipeline with individual processor cores assigned individual network traffic processing tasks, the pipeline including:
• a first set of processor cores to construct a first network traffic tree characterizing the inbound network traffic and a second network traffic tree characterizing the outbound network traffic, where the first and second network traffic trees characterize at least one traffic type and at least one traffic rate, and where the first and second network traffic trees are different from each other with respect to at least one traffic type or at least one traffic rate;
• and
• a second set of processor cores to enforce one or more network traffic policies utilizing at least one of the first and second network traffic trees constructed by the first set of processor cores.