Claims
- 1. A method of classifying traffic at a network node comprising:
programming multiple on-chip memory arrays with identical search entries; receiving multiple packets; and distributing classification searches related to said packets among said multiple programmed on-chip memory arrays.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said multiple packets have a fixed order prior to said distributing of classification searches related to said packets, and wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets is performed according to said fixed order.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets is performed in an alternating fashion with respect to said fixed order.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets alternates at each clock cycle.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of said multiple programmed on-chip memory arrays is two.
- 6. A method of classifying traffic at a network node comprising:
programming multiple content addressable memory (CAM) arrays with identical search entries; receiving multiple packets; and distributing classification searches related to said packets among said multiple programmed CAM arrays.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said multiple packets have a fixed order prior to said distributing of classification searches related to said packets, and wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets is performed according to said fixed order.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets is performed in an alternating fashion with respect to said fixed order.
- 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said distributing of classification searches related to said packets alternates at each clock cycle.
- 10. The method of claim 6 wherein the number of said multiple programmed CAM arrays is two.
- 11. The method of claim 6 wherein said search entries are class-specific entries, each of said class-specific entries having an associated traffic class, and wherein the method further comprises:
obtaining a protocol-independent key field from a packet of the multiple packets; and searching one of said multiple programmed CAM arrays with said protocol-independent key field for a class-specific entry that matches said protocol-independent key field to identify an associated traffic class of said packet.
- 12. The method of claim 6 wherein said search entries are class-specific entries, each of said class-specific entries having an associated traffic distribution policy, and wherein the method further comprises:
obtaining a protocol-independent key field from a packet of the multiple packets; searching one of said multiple programmed CAM arrays with said protocol-independent key field for a class-specific entry that matches said protocol-independent key field to identify an associated traffic distribution policy for said packet; and applying said identified traffic distribution policy to said packet.
- 13. A system for classifying traffic at a network node comprising:
a plurality of on-chip memory arrays configured to be programmed identically; and a search distribution engine configured to distribute a plurality of classification searches related to a plurality of incoming packets among said plurality of on-chip memory arrays.
- 14. The system of claim 13 wherein said search distribution engine distributes said classification searches in an alternating fashion to said plurality of on-chip memory arrays.
- 15. A system for classifying traffic at a network node comprising:
a plurality of content addressable memory (CAM) arrays configured to be programmed identically; and a search distribution engine configured to distribute a plurality of classification searches related to a plurality of incoming packets among said plurality of CAM arrays.
- 16. The system of claim 15 wherein said search distribution engine distributes said classification searches in an alternating fashion to said plurality of CAM arrays.
- 17. The system of claim 15 wherein said CAM arrays are configured to be programmed identically with multiple class-specific entries, each of said class-specific entries having an associated traffic class, and wherein the system further comprises:
a key field extraction engine configured to obtain a protocol-independent key field from an incoming packet of said plurality of incoming packets; and a traffic classification module configured to search one of said CAM arrays with said protocol-independent key field to identify an associated traffic class of said incoming packet.
- 18. The system of claim 15 wherein said CAM arrays are configured to be programmed identically with multiple class-specific entries, each of said class-specific entries having an associated traffic distribution policy, and wherein the system further comprises:
a key field extraction engine configured to obtain a protocol-independent key field from an incoming packet of said plurality of incoming packets; a traffic classification module configured to search one of said CAM arrays with said protocol-independent key field to identify an associated traffic distribution policy for said incoming packet; and a traffic distribution engine configured to apply said identified traffic distribution policy to said incoming packet.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is entitled to the benefit of provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/386,000, filed Jun. 4, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60386000 |
Jun 2002 |
US |