Methods and apparatuses for implementing network packet brokers and taps

1. A method for improving data communication in a network, comprising:

at a network packet broker residing in a network:

receiving a plurality of data packets, the plurality of data packets including original data packets transmitted by a first network device and destined for a second network device, the first and second network devices being separate from the network packet broker, the plurality of data packets further including replicate data packets copied by the first network device or a network tap for monitoring purposes;

segregating the plurality of data packets into the original data packets and the replicate data packets;

determining whether each of the original data packets is a service level agreement (SLA)-enabled data packet that is associated with a SLA parameter;

designating the SLA-enabled data packets into a first group comprising a plurality of high priority queues;

designating the replicate data packets into a second group comprising a plurality of lower priority queues;

prioritizing the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of high priority queues in the first group according to SLA parameters associated with the SLA-enabled data packets;

prioritizing the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of lower priority queues in the second group according to one or more processing parameters associated with a plurality of monitoring tools; and

operating as an in-line device for the original data packets by forwarding the original data packets to a first network monitoring tool separate from the first and second network devices, receiving at least some of the original data packets from the first network monitoring tool, and forwarding the original data packets received from the first network monitoring tool to the second network device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein segregating the plurality of data packets comprises identifying input ports that receive the plurality of data packets.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein segregating the plurality of data packets comprises examining packet header data.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising marking each data packet with an indication that indicates whether each data packet is an original packet or a replicated packet.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein marking each data packet comprises setting a value in a header field of each data packet.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein marking each data packet comprises adding content to a content portion of each data packet.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending the replicate data packets to a monitoring tool.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein segregating the plurality of data packets is implemented by a tap device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein segregating the plurality of data packets is implemented by a network packet broker device.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein prioritizing includes queuing the original data packets onto a plurality of different queues.

11. An apparatus for improving data communication in a network, comprising:

a network packet broker including:

an ingress port for receiving a plurality of data packets, the plurality of data packets including original data packets transmitted by a first network device and destined for a second network device, the first and second network devices being separate from the network packet broker, the plurality of data packets further including replicate data packets copied by the first network device or a network tap for monitoring purposes;

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor configured to:

segregate the plurality of data packets received at the ingress port into the original data packets and the replicate data packets;

determine whether each of the original data packets is a service level agreement (SLA)-enabled data packet that is associated with a SLA parameter;

designate the SLA-enabled data packets into a first group comprising a plurality of high priority queues;

designate the replicate data packets into a second group comprising a plurality of lower priority queues;

prioritize the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of high priority queues in the first group according to SLA parameters associated with the SLA-enabled data packets;

prioritize the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of lower priority queues in the second group according to one or more processing parameters associated with a plurality of monitoring tools; and

operate as an in-line device for the original data packets by forwarding the original data packets to a first network monitoring tool separate from the first and second network devices, receiving at least some of the original data packets from the first network monitoring tool, and forwarding the original data packets received from the first network monitoring tool to the second network device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the module is configured to segregate the plurality of data packets via identifying input ports that receive the plurality of data packets.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the module is configured to segregate the plurality of data packets by examining packet header data associated with each of the plurality of data packets.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the module is configured to mark each data packet with an indication that indicates whether each data packet is an original packet or a replicated packet.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the module is configured to mark each data packet via setting a value in a header field of each data packet.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the module is configured to mark each data packet via adding content to a content portion of each data packet.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the module is configured to send the replicate data packets to a monitoring tool.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the module is configured to send the original data packets to a monitoring tool.

19. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the apparatus comprises a network packet broker (NPB) device.

20. A network packet broker (NPB) for facilitating monitoring of network traffic in a data communication in a network, comprising:

a first port for receiving a plurality of data packets, the plurality of data packets including original data packets transmitted by a first network device and destined for a second network device, the first and second network devices being separate from the network packet broker, the plurality of data packets further including replicate data packets copied by the first network device or a network tap for monitoring purposes; and

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor configured to:

segregate the plurality of data packets into the original data packets and the replicate data packets;

determine whether each of the original data packets is a service level agreement (SLA)-enabled data packet that is associated with a SLA parameter;

designate the SLA-enabled data packets into a first group comprising a plurality of high priority queues;

designate the replicate data packets into a second group comprising a plurality of lower priority queues;

prioritize the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of high priority queues in the first group according to SLA parameters associated with the SLA-enabled data packets;

prioritize the queuing and de-queuing of the plurality of lower priority queues in the second group according to one or more processing parameters associated with a plurality of monitoring tools; and

operating as an in-line device for the original data packets by forwarding the original data packets to a first network monitoring tool separate from the first and second network devices, receiving at least some of the original data packets from the first network monitoring tool, and forwarding the original data packets received from the first network monitoring tool to the second network device.