Abstract: Forwarding of network packets generated by a networking device may be load-balanced. Network packets may be generated by a networking device, such as a packet processor, that also processes and forwards received network packets. Forwarding decisions for the generated network packets may be made according to a load balancing scheme among possible forwarding routes from the networking device. In at least some embodiments, a destination resolution pipeline for determining forwarding decisions for generated network packets may be implemented separate from a destination resolution pipeline for determining forwarding decisions for received network packets in order to determine different forwarding decisions for the generated network packets. The generated network packets may then be forwarded according to the determined forwarding decisions.

Abstract: A system that provides virtualized computing resources may include an enhanced PCIe endpoint device on which an emulation processor emulates PCIe compliant hardware in software. The endpoint device may include host interface circuitry that implements pointer registers and control and status registers for each of multiple transaction ring buffers instantiated in memory on the device. In response to receiving a transaction layer packet that includes a transaction, packet steering circuitry may push the transaction into one of the buffers, dependent on the transaction type, a routing identifier for an emulated device to which it is directed, its traffic class or other criteria. The transaction may be processed in software, emulating the hardware device. The host interface circuitry may generate response completion packets for configuration requests and non-posted transactions, and may return them according to PCIe ordering rules, regardless of the order in which they were processed on the endpoint device.

Abstract: Packet processors may implement burst absorption for processing network packets. Network packets may be processed at a packet processor according to a packet processing rate. For network packets that do not exceed the packet processing rate, processing of the network packets commences without an intervening buffer to store packet metadata. For network packets that exceed the packet processing rate, control metadata may be stored in a buffer at the excessive processing rate separate from packet data until removed from the buffer for processing according to the packet processing rate. In some embodiments, pipeline bubbles may be inserted by delaying the removal of packet metadata from the burst absorption buffer in order to start a pipeline bubble through forwarding stages of a packet processor.