Copying packet data to mirror buffer

A method performed in a network forwarding system, the method comprising:

• receiving packet data with an instruction to copy a portion of the packet data to a temporary storage of the network forwarding system, wherein the portion is larger than a maximum entry size of the temporary storage;
• generating a header for at least one of a plurality of packet data sections for storage in entries of the temporary storage, at least one packet data section comprising a sub-portion of the portion of the packet data;
• providing the packet data sections with the generated header to the temporary storage for storage in a plurality of separate temporary storage entries;
• and
• upon a triggering event, providing from the temporary storage at least a subset of the stored packet data sections for a plurality of packets as a single packet with an additional header.

A network forwarding system comprising:

• a packet processing pipeline comprising a parser, a set of match-action stages, and a deparser circuitry;
• and
• a temporary storage configured to store packet data sections from a plurality of packets for output together as a single packet,
• wherein the deparser circuitry is configured to:
• receive packet data from the set of match-action stages with an instruction to copy a portion of the packet data to the temporary storage of the network forwarding system, wherein the portion is larger than a maximum entry size of the temporary storage;
• generate a header for at least one of a plurality of packet data sections for storage in entries of the temporary storage, wherein at least one packet data section comprises a sub-portion of the portion of the packet data, a first packet data section comprises an identifier that the first packet data section is an initial packet data section for the portion of the packet data, a second packet data section comprises an identifier that the second packet data section is a last packet data section for the portion of the packet data, and the identifiers are used by a receiver of the packet data sections to reconstruct the portion of the packet data;
• and
• provide the packet data sections with the generated header to the temporary storage for storage in a plurality of separate temporary storage entries.

A network forwarding system comprising:

• a packet processing pipeline comprising a parser, a set of match-action stages, and a deparser circuitry;
• and
• a temporary storage configured to store packet data sections from a plurality of packets for output together as a single packet,
• wherein the deparser circuitry is configured to:
• receive packet data from the set of match-action stages with an instruction to copy a portion of the packet data to the temporary storage of the network forwarding system, wherein the portion is larger than a maximum entry size of the temporary storage;
• generate a header for one or more of a plurality of packet data sections for storage in entries of the temporary storage, at least one packet data section comprising a sub-portion of the portion of the packet data;
• and
• provide the packet data sections with the generated header to the temporary storage for storage in a plurality of separate temporary storage entries,
• wherein the temporary storage is configured to provide the stored packet data sections from the plurality of packets as a single packet upon occurrence of a triggering event, wherein the single packet comprises an additional header that is to identify a number of total packet data sections in the single packet.