Editing Network processor (section)

==Applications==
Using the generic function of the network processor, a software program implements an application that the network processor executes, resulting in the piece of physical equipment performing a task or providing a service. Some of the applications types typically implemented as software running on network processors are:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Network Systems Design Using Network Processors: Intel 2XXX Version|last=Comer|first=Douglas E.|publisher=Addison-Wesley|year=2005|isbn=978-0-13-187286-8}}</ref>

* [[Packet (information technology)|Packet]] or [[Stack frame|frame]] discrimination and forwarding, that is, the basic operation of a [[Router (computing)|router]] or [[Network switch|switch]].
* [[Quality of service]] (QoS) enforcement – identifying different types or classes of packets and providing preferential treatment for some types or classes of packet at the expense of other types or classes of packet.
* Access Control functions – determining whether a specific packet or stream of packets should be allowed to traverse the piece of network equipment.
* [[Encryption]] of data streams – built in hardware-based encryption engines allow individual data flows to be encrypted by the processor.
* [[TCP Offload Engine|TCP offload]] processing