Multi-threaded sequenced receive for fast network port stream of packets

A method of processing a data packet comprising:

• processing a first portion of the data packet by a first thread of a set of threads provided by multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within a processor;
• processing a middle portion of the data packet by a second thread of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor;
• and
• processing an end portion of the data packet by a final thread of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor;
• storing first information by the first thread to be retrieved by the second thread;
• storing second information by the first thread to be retrieved by the final thread.

A method of processing a data packet comprising:

• using a first thread of a set of threads provided by multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within a processor to process a first section of the data packet, the first thread saving state information, storing the first section of the data packet to a memory and saving output port information;
• using two or more middle threads of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor to process a middle section of the data packet, each of the two or more middle threads retrieving the state information, saving updated state information, and storing at least a portion of the middle section of the data packet to the memory;
• and
• using a final thread of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor to process a last section of the data packet, the final thread retrieving the state information, and storing the last section of the data packet to the memory.

An article comprising a computer-readable medium which store computer-executable instructions for receiving data from a plurality of ports, the instructions causing a computer to:

• use a first thread of a set of threads provided by multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within a processor to process a first section of a data packet including saving state information, storing the first section of the data packet to a memory, and saving output port information;
• use a middle thread of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor to process a middle section of the data packet including retrieving the state information, incrementing an element counter, saving updated state information, and storing the middle section of the data packet to the memory;
• and
• use a final thread of the set of threads provided by the multiple programmable multi-threaded engines integrated within the processor to process a last section of the data packet including retrieving the state information, incrementing the element counter, retrieving the output port information, and storing the last section of the data packet to the memory.