Ternary Content Addressable Memory System

A ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) system, comprising:

• a plurality of TCAMs comprising at least a first TCAM and a second TCAM, wherein:
• the first TCAM comprises a plurality of even TCAM blocks, and
• the second TCAM comprises a plurality of odd TCAM blocks;
• and
• a TCAM logic configured to:
• receive a plurality of key entries;
• and
• allocate a set of TCAM blocks to each key entry of the plurality of key entries, wherein:
• the set of TCAM blocks comprises at least an even TCAM block and an odd TCAM block, and
• the set of TCAM blocks allocated to each key entry is utilized to identify one or more hits to a corresponding key entry.

A method, comprising:

• receiving a key entry;
• detecting a key-type associated with the key entry;
• and
• operating a ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) system, comprising at least a first TCAM block and a second TCAM block, in one of a wide search mode or a narrow search mode based on the detected key-type, wherein:
• operating the TCAM system in the narrow search mode comprises inputting the key entry to the first TCAM block and the second TCAM, and
• operating the TCAM system in the wide search mode comprises splitting the key entry into a first key segment and a second key segment, and inputting the first key segment and the second key segment to the first TCAM block and the second TCAM block, respectively.