ASN DPI

Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) is a powerful technique that analyzes network traffic at the packet level, going beyond basic header inspection to examine the payload—the actual data being transmitted.

Application, Protocol, and Category Identification with DPI

ASN Deep Packet Inspection enables precise identification of 2,700+ applications and 9,000+ subcategory applications, and their attributes by analyzing network traffic in detail. This capability allows organizations to know exactly which apps are running—whether it’s video, audio, gaming, file transfer, or chat—along with the underlying protocols they use. Categorizing traffic helps in applying tailored policies for security, bandwidth allocation, and compliance. By understanding both the app and its category, enterprises and telcos can optimize network performance, enforce acceptable use policies, and gain valuable insights into user behavior and traffic trends

DPI Benefits for Telcos

For telecom operators, ASN DPI delivers detailed application, protocol, and category identification—covering over 2,700+ apps—combined with critical session KPIs such as average, max, and min bandwidth, uplink/downlink latency, and packet retransmissions. This data helps telcos monitor how many users are engaging with each app and how network resources are being consumed in real time. By correlating user behavior with network performance metrics, telcos can optimize bandwidth allocation, improve quality of service for high-priority applications, and quickly troubleshoot performance issues. Additionally, rich metadata like HTTP hostnames and user-agent information aids in refining subscriber analytics, enabling personalized service offerings and efficient network management.

DPI Benefits for Data Centers/Enterprise

In data centers and enterprise networks, ASN DPI combines accurate app, protocol, and category identification with detailed session metrics—such as bandwidth usage, latency, and packet loss—to provide deep visibility into application performance and user experience. Tracking how many users access specific applications and the bandwidth consumed per session allows IT teams to optimize resource allocation and enforce security policies effectively. Latency and retransmission data help identify network bottlenecks or faulty links, enabling proactive issue resolution. Supplemented by metadata like HTTP URLs and user agents, this granular insight empowers enterprises to manage complex traffic flows, ensure compliance, and enhance overall network reliability and efficiency.

DPI Dynamic Upgrade: Always Stay Current:

In a fast-changing digital landscape where new applications and protocols constantly emerge, a static DPI quickly becomes outdated. ASN-DPI addresses this challenge with a robust DPI dynamic upgrade mechanism, allowing its detection engine and protocol signature database to be updated on the fly—without service interruption or the need for full software redeployment.

DPI Metadata Payload Supported Headers:

HTTP2
HTTP
DNS
SSL
QUIC
RTP
SIP
SSH
NetBios

Complete List of Applications

HTTP

Field Name	Explanation
HTTP_HostName	Hostname from the Host: header, indicating which virtual host the client is accessing (e.g., api.example.com).
HTTP_url	The request path and query portion of the HTTP request line (e.g., /login).
HTTP_UserAgent	Client’s user agent string identifying browser, OS, and device.
HTTP_DetectedOS	OS extracted from the User-Agent string (e.g., “Windows NT 10.0”).
HTTP_Method	HTTP request method such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.
HTTP_Referer	URL of the page that referred the client to the current request.
HTTP_ClientContType	Content-Type header sent by the client, describing the format of the request body.
HTTP_ClientContLength	Content-Length header from the client, indicating size of the request body in bytes.
HTTP_Accept	MIME types the client is willing to accept in the response.
HTTP_Origin	Origin header for CORS requests, specifying the origin of the client website.
HTTP_ClientConnection	Connection header from the client indicating connection behavior (e.g., keep-alive).
HTTP_X_Forwarded_For	Client’s original IP address when passing through proxies or load balancers.
HTTP_X_Session_Type	Custom extension header indicating session type (e.g., “user”).
HTTP_X_Stream_Type	Custom header specifying type of stream (e.g., “live”).
HTTP_X_Online_Host	Custom header providing upstream host information (e.g., proxy or CDN host).
HTTP_X_Requested_With	Header typically used for AJAX requests (e.g., XMLHttpRequest).
HTTP_ServerContType	Content-Type header sent by the server describing the response body format.
HTTP_ServerContLength	Content-Length header from the server, indicating response body size (bytes).
HTTP_ResponseCode	HTTP status code returned by the server (e.g., 200, 404, 500).
HTTP_ServerContEncoding	Content-Encoding header specifying compression (e.g., gzip, deflate).
HTTP_TransferEncoding	Transfer-Encoding header (e.g., chunked); NULL if not present.
HTTP_Server	Server header identifying the server software and version.
HTTP_ServerConnection	Server’s Connection header indicating connection handling (e.g., keep-alive).

DNS

HTTP2

DHCP

SIP

RTP

SSL/TLS

QUIC

NetBios

User Session Attributes

Download List of Applications with Content Type and Protocol

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ASN_AppList.pdf

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