ON CARD PROGRAMMABLE FILTERING AND SEARCHING FOR CAPTURED NETWORK DATA

A programmable data filtering/searching system for use with a data network. The primary programmable hardware-based filtering and searching portions of the system are integrated onto the same printed circuit board as the data storage device to facilitate efficient filtering and searching of data from a data stream coming from a memory storage device after being captured. In addition, the actual hardware and software used to perform the filtering and searching routines is programmable such that various filter and search criteria can be entered and utilized. The data filtering/searching system also uses metadata in addition to the captured data to minimize the time required to perform certain processes on the data from the data stream.