| CPC H04L 63/0236 (2013.01) [H04L 43/18 (2013.01); H04L 63/104 (2013.01); H04L 63/1408 (2013.01); H04L 63/18 (2013.01); H04L 67/75 (2022.05)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A method, comprising:
receiving one or more data packets at a virtualized smart network switching system comprising a software-defined networking system;
analyzing the one or more data packets at a protocol level within a data plane of the software-defined networking system; and
based on the analysis, separating protocol command messages into match groups upon which different rule sets are applied and determining whether the one or more data packets are authorized data packets associated with an authorized command utilizing a respective rule set applied to the one or more data packets associated with a respective match group for each of the one or more data packets.
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