Lookup front end packet input processor
AssigneeCavium, Inc.
InventorsRajan Goyal, Gregg A. Bouchard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A packet processor provides for rule matching of packets in a network architecture. The packet processor includes a lookup cluster complex having a number of lookup engines and respective on-chip memory units. The on-chip memory stores rules for matching against packet data. A lookup front-end receives lookup requests from a host, and processes these lookup requests to generate key requests for forwarding to the lookup engines. As a result of the rule matching, the lookup engine returns a response message indicating whether a match is found. The lookup front-end further processes the response message and provides a corresponding response to the host.
Claims21
A method of processing a packet comprising:
- receiving a lookup request including a packet header of a packet and an associated group identifier (GID);
- generating at least one key based on data of the packet header;
- comparing the GID against a global definition table to determine at least one table identifier (TID);
- determining, based on the TID, a subset of processing clusters that are capable of operating rule matching for the packet;
- selecting one of the processing clusters of the subset based on availability;
- and
- forwarding at least one key request to the selected processing cluster, the key request including the at least one key and the at least one TID to initiate rule matching using the key.
An apparatus for processing a packet comprising:
- a register configured to receive a lookup request including a packet header of a packet and an associated group identifier (GID);
- a packet header extractor (PHE) configured to generate at least one key based on data of the packet header;
- a distributor configured to compare the GID against a global definition table to determine at least one table identifier (TID);
- and
- a scheduler output manager configured to:
- determine, based on the TID, a subset of processing clusters that are capable of operating rule matching for the packet;
- select one of the processing clusters of the subset based on availability;
- and
- forward at least one key request to the selected processing cluster, the key request including the at least one key and the at least one TID to initiate rule matching using the key.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.