Parallel combining different approaches to multi pattern matching for FPGA-based security systems

Abstract

The multi-pattern matching is a fundamental technique found in applications like a network intrusion detection system, anti-virus, anti-worms and other signature based information security tools. Due to rising traffic rates, increasing number and sophistication of attacks and the collapse of Moore's law, traditional software solutions can no longer keep up. Therefore, hardware approaches are frequently being used by developers to accelerate pattern matching. Reconfigurable FPGA-based devices, providing the flexibility of software and the near-ASIC performance, have become increasingly popular for this purpose. Hence, increasing the efficiency of reconfigurable information security tools is a scientific issue now. Many different approaches to constructing hardware matching circuits on FPGAs are known. The most widely used of them are based on discrete comparators, hash functions and finite automata. Each approach possesses its own pros and cons. None of them still became the leading one. In this paper, a method to combine several different approaches to enforce their advantages has been developed. An analytical technique to quickly advance estimate the resource costs of each matching scheme without need to compile FPGA project has been proposed. It allows to apply optimization procedures to near-optimally split the set of pattern between different approaches in acceptable time.