Technologies for flexible tree-based lookups for network devices

A method for network packet processing, the method comprising:

• determining, by a network device, a packet type of a network packet;
• extracting, by the network device, a plurality of fields from the network packet to generate a field vector in response to determining the packet type, wherein the field vector includes a plurality of words, wherein each word of the field vector comprises a field of the plurality of fields, and wherein the plurality of fields are selected based on the packet type;
• constructing, by the network device, a tree representation of the field vector, wherein the tree representation includes a plurality of nodes, wherein the nodes include a plurality of leaf nodes and one or more root nodes, and wherein each leaf node corresponds to a word of the field vector;
• executing, by the network device, an iterative lookup over the tree representation of the field vector in response to constructing the tree representation;
• determining, by the network device, whether the iterative lookup is a match in response to executing the iterative lookup;
• and
• performing, by the network device, an action associated with the iterative lookup in response to determining that the iterative lookup is a match.

One or more computer-readable storage media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, in response to being executed, cause a network device to:

• determine a packet type of a network packet;
• extract a plurality of fields from the network packet to generate a field vector in response to determining the packet type, wherein the field vector includes a plurality of words, wherein each word of the field vector comprises a field of the plurality of fields, and wherein the plurality of fields are selected based on the packet type;
• construct a tree representation of the field vector, wherein the tree representation includes a plurality of nodes, wherein the nodes include a plurality of leaf nodes and one or more root nodes, and wherein each leaf node corresponds to a word of the field vector;
• execute an iterative lookup over the tree representation of the field vector in response to constructing the tree representation;
• determine whether the iterative lookup is a match in response to executing the iterative lookup;
• and
• perform an action associated with the iterative lookup in response to determining that the iterative lookup is a match.