Processing data units

A system for processing data units, the system comprising:

• a computing platform having throughput limitations associated with processing data, the computing platform comprising a network equipment test device, wherein the network equipment test device comprises:
• a plurality of processors for performing data unit concatenation;
• and
• a memory, wherein the computing platform is configured to sort or classify individual data units using processor affinity values, wherein each of the processor affinity values identifies to which processor of the plurality of processors an individual data unit should be forwarded to for concatenation with other individual data units associated with the same processor affinity value;
• to concatenate, using a first processor of the plurality of processors associated with a first processor affinity value, multiple individual data units into a concatenated data unit (CDU), wherein the CDU includes a header portion for at least one of the multiple data units, wherein the multiple individual data units in the CDU are associated with the first processor affinity value, to process the CDU as a single data unit rather than as multiple individual data units such that the CDU incurs processing overhead of a single data unit rather than that of multiple individual data units, and to de-concatenate the CDU into the multiple individual data units, wherein the concatenating, processing, and de-concatenation occur in a network interface of the network equipment test device.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions embodied in the non-transitory computer readable medium that when executed by a processor of a computer perform steps comprising:

• at a computing platform comprising a network equipment test device, wherein the network equipment test device comprises a plurality of processors for performing data unit concatenation, wherein the computing platform has throughput limitations associated with processing data:
• sorting or classifying individual data units using processor affinity values, wherein each of the processor affinity values identifies to which processor of the plurality of processors an individual data unit should be forwarded to for concatenation with other individual data units associated with the same processor affinity value;
• concatenating, using a first processor of the plurality of processors associated with a first processor affinity value, multiple individual data units into a concatenated data unit (CDU), wherein the CDU includes a header portion for at least one of the multiple data units, wherein the multiple individual data units in the CDU are associated with the first processor affinity value;
• processing the CDU as a single data unit rather than as multiple individual data units such that the CDU incurs processing overhead of a single data unit rather than that of multiple individual data units;
• and
• de-concatenating the CDU into the multiple individual data units, wherein the concatenating, processing, and de-concatenation occur in a network interface of the network equipment test device.