Method and apparatus for table aging in a network switch
AssigneeCavium, Inc.
InventorsWeihuang Wang, Gerald Schmidt, Tsahi Daniel, Mohan Balan
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a centralized table aging module that efficiently and flexibly utilizes an embedded memory resource, and that enables and facilitates separate network controllers. The centralized table aging module performs aging of tables in parallel using the embedded memory resource. The table aging module performs an age marking process and an age refreshing process. The memory resource includes age mark memory and age mask memory. Age marking is applied to the age mark memory. The age mask memory provides per-entry control granularity regarding the aging of table entries.
Claims33
1-16. (canceled)
A table aging module in a network switch, the table aging module comprising:
- aging memory tiles including age mark memory including age memory bit values and age mask memory including mask bit values for each entry of a plurality of search tables, wherein each of the age memory bit values indicate whether a corresponding one of the entries has been subject to a search hit since a previous aging process;
- and
- a processing circuit that determines if a request aging indicator of a table search request indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request, wherein at least one of the entries is hit by the table search request and refrains from updating the age memory bit values of the at least one of the entries when the request aging indicator indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request even if the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the at least one of the entries indicates that aging is enabled.
The table aging module of claim 27, further comprising an age interrupt queue.
The table aging module of claim 27, further comprising a refresh state machine for controlling the age refreshing process.
21-25. (canceled)
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a table aging module, the table aging module including both mask bit values and an age memory bit value for each entry of each of a plurality of search tables in a central aging memory pool, wherein each of the age memory bit values indicate whether a corresponding one of the entries has been subject to a search hit since a previous aging process, wherein the table aging module:
- determines if a request aging indicator of a table search request indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request, wherein at least one of the entries is hit by the table search request;
- and
- refrains from updating the age memory bit values of the at least one of the entries when the request aging indicator indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request even if the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the at least one of the entries indicates that aging is enabled.
A table aging module in a network switch, the table aging module comprising:
- mask bit values and an age memory bit value for each entry of each of a plurality of search tables in a central aging memory pool, wherein each of the age memory bit values indicate whether a corresponding one of the entries has been subject to a search hit since a previous aging process;
- means for determining if a request aging indicator of a table search request indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request, wherein at least one of the entries is hit by the table search request;
- and
- means for refraining from updating the age memory bit values of the at least one of the entries when the request aging indicator indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request even if the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the at least one of the entries indicates that aging is enabled.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a table aging element, the table aging element including both mask bit values and an age memory bit value for each entry of each of a plurality of search tables in a central aging memory pool, wherein each of the age memory bit values indicate whether a corresponding one of the entries has been subject to a search hit since a previous aging process, wherein the table aging element:
- determines if a request aging indicator of a table search request indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request, wherein at least one of the entries is hit by the table search request;
- refrains from updating the age memory bit values of the at least one of the entries when the request aging indicator indicates that aging is disabled for the table search request even if the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the at least one of the entries indicates that aging is enabled;
- identifies both the mask bit value of one or more of the entries and the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the one or more of the entries;
- and
- based on both the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the one or more of the entries and the mask bit values of the one or more of the entries, refrains from aging the one or more of the entries, regardless of the age memory bit values of the one or more entries, if the aging configuration indicator value of the search table storing the one or more of the entries indicates that the search table storing the one or more of the entries should be aged, but the mask bit values indicate that the one or more of the entries should not be aged.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.