1. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a silicon switch including a network port to exchange packets of data with one or more networks, a packet classifier to select packets that satisfy one or more packet classification rules, wherein each of the packet classification rules describes at least one packet characteristic, and an action circuit to perform actions in response to processor commands, wherein the processor generates each of the processor commands based on a plurality of the selected packets, wherein the processor performs comparisons between each of the selected packets and at least one pattern, and wherein the processor generates the processor commands based on a history of results of the comparisons, wherein the processor executes a computer program written in a scripting language, wherein the computer program performs the comparisons, and wherein a pattern is added to the computer program at runtime without rebooting the apparatus.