he term "carrier" referred to local telephone companies, such as Verizon Communications, that carried voice and data traffic for consumers and commercial organizations. Now, all companies that provide outside cabling or mobile infrastructure and operate networks are generally referred to as carriers. These include cable television operators, cellular telephone companies, long distance providers and traditional local telephone companies. Cable TV operators, mobile carriers, and traditional local telephone companies transmit voice, data, and television signals as well as providing connections to the Internet. To complicate matters further, carriers are also referred to as operators and providers. ISPs at one time provided the connections to the Internet and information services over a carrier's cabling, and sometimes provided the switching infrastructure needed to access the Internet. ISPs also provide e-mail hosting and other services over a carrier's infrastructure. In everyday usage, the terms carriers and ISPs are used for all types of providers. This is due to the fact that telephone companies such as AT&T as well as www.TechnicalPDF.com traditional ISPs provide access to the Internet, e-mail services, and e-mail addresses to customers. DEEP PACKET INSPECTION: MONITORING, PRIORITIZING, AND CENSORING TRAFFIC In order to manage the networks they operate, companies and carriers need information about traffic patterns. They monitor security, congestion, and whether there is too much capacity. Enterprises, healthcare organizations, and universities monitor outgoing traffic to safeguard privacy and intellectual property such as patents, social security numbers, formulas for new drugs, and details on new technologies. An important tool in managing both enterprise and telephone and cellular company's networks is deep packet inspection. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) accomplishes this by analyzing the contents of packets transmitted on network operators' landline and mobile networks. DPI can examine the content in the he