Packet transfer device, semiconductor device, and packet transfer system

A semiconductor device comprising:

• a plurality of input/output ports;
• a header information extracting circuit for extracting header information belonging to a 3rd layer and higher layers of a network protocol from packets inputted from the respective input/output ports;
• a table storing header information and control information corresponding to the header information in association with each other;
• a control information acquiring circuit for acquiring control information corresponding to the header information extracted by said header information extracting circuit from the table;
• and
• a processing circuit for processing packets based on the control information acquired by said control information acquiring circuit.

A packet transfer system for transferring packets between a plurality of networks connected by a packet transfer device, said packet transfer device comprising:

• a plurality of input/output ports;
• a header information extracting circuit for extracting header information belonging to a 3rd layer and higher layers of a network protocol from packets inputted from the respective input/output ports;
• a table storing header information and control information corresponding to the header information in association with each other;
• a control information acquiring circuit for acquiring control information corresponding to the header information extracted by said header information extracting circuit from the table;
• and
• a processing circuit for processing packets based on the control information acquired by said control information acquiring circuit.