Chained lookups and counting in a network switch

Abstract

A network switch using a search engine to generate chained table lookup requests. After the search engine executes a first lookup, the next-pass logic in the search engine uses the first lookup result and information in the master key to generate a second lookup key as well as other parts of a second lookup request. A next-pass crossbar routes the second lookup request to a target memory, and the search logic executes the second lookup. The first lookup request may originate from a processing engine coupled to the search engine. The first and the second lookup results, if any, can then be returned back to the processing engine for further processing or decision making. The chain of lookups can be configured by software by specifying various operational parameters of the processing engines and the next-pass logic, including specifying a key construction mode for the second lookup.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.