Storing a mac address table entry

An apparatus for storing an MAC address, wherein the apparatus comprises multiple network interfaces and a switching device with multiple storage blocks;

• wherein one hash table stored in each of the storage blocks is configured with a unique hash algorithm;
• the switching device learns a MAC address table entry based on an Ethernet packet received by any one of the network interfaces;
• calculates one hash value based on the hash algorithm for each of the hash tables and a key of the MAC address table entry;
• checks a state of a storage location indicated by a corresponding hash value of each of the hash tables sequentially based on a search priority of each of the hash tables in a sequence of the search priorities from high to low;
• stores the MAC address table entry in the first free storage location of found storage locations;
• and decreases a search priority of a hash table with a highest search priority to a lowest search priority, and increases the search priority of each of other hash tables by one level, respectively.

An apparatus for storing an MAC address, wherein the apparatus comprises multiple network interfaces, a switching device with multiple storage blocks, a processor, and a non-transitory machine-readable medium in which processor-executable instructions are recorded;

• each of the storage blocks of the switching device stores one hash table and each of the storage blocks of the switching device is configured with a unique hash algorithm;
• the switching device learns a MAC address table entry based on an Ethernet packet received by any one of the network interfaces;
• the processor executes the processor-executable instructions recorded in the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium to perform following operations of:
• acquiring the learned MAC address table entry;
• calculating one hash value based on a hash algorithm for each of the hash tables and a key of the MAC address table entry;
• wherein each of the hash tables is configured with a unique hash algorithm;
• checking a state of a storage location indicated by a corresponding hash value of each of the hash tables sequentially based on a search priority of each of the hash tables in a sequence of the search priorities from high to low;
• storing the MAC address table entry in the first free storage location of found storage locations;
• and
• decreasing a search priority of a hash table with a highest search priority to a lowest search priority, and increasing the search priority of each of other hash tables by one level, respectively.