US Patent 7562213 Approaches for applying service policies to encrypted packets

Approaches for applying service polices to encrypted packets are disclosed. One approach comprises examining an encrypted packet, determining whether an identifier associated with a service is present in an encrypted packet, and if it is determined that the identifier is present in the encrypted packet, applying the service to the encrypted packet. In an embodiment, the identifier is the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) ID of the encrypted packet.