Abstract: A mechanism is provided for merging in a network processor results from a parser and results from an external coprocessor providing processing support requested by said parser. The mechanism enqueues in a result queue both parser results needing to be merged with a coprocessor result and parser results which have no need to be merged with a coprocessor result. An additional queue is used to enqueue the addresses of the result queue where the parser results are stored. The result from the coprocessor is received in a simple response register. The coprocessor result is read by the result queue management logic from the response register and merged to the corresponding incomplete parser result read in the result queue at the address enqueued in the additional queue.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for routing table synchronization for a distributed network switch. In one embodiment, a first frame having a source address and a destination address is received. If no routing entry for the source address is found in a routing table of a first switch module, routing information is determined for the source address and a routing entry is generated. An indication is sent to a second switch module, to request a routing entry for the source address to be generated in the second switch module, based on the routing information.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for cached routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received. If no routing entry for the source address is found in a routing table of a switch module in the distributed network switch, then routing information is determined for the source address and a routing entry is generated. The routing table is modified to include the routing entry, based on a set of hash functions. Upon accessing the generated routing entry in the modified routing table responsive to a subsequent lookup request for the source address, the set of caches is modified to include the generated routing entry.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received by a switch module having bridge elements and a routing table divided into slices of buckets, each slice having a respective property and including one or more buckets. If a routing entry for the source address is found in a first slice of a first set of buckets of the routing table responsive to a lookup request for the source address, and the property of the first slice satisfies a replication condition, then the routing entry is replicated to a second set of buckets of the routing table.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received by a switch module having bridge elements and a routing table divided into slices of buckets, each slice having a respective property and including one or more buckets. If a routing entry for the source address is found in a first slice of a first set of buckets of the routing table responsive to a lookup request for the source address, and the property of the first slice satisfies a replication condition, then the routing entry is replicated to a second set of buckets of the routing table.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for cached routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received. If no routing entry for the source address is found in a routing table of a switch module in the distributed network switch, then routing information is determined for the source address and a routing entry is generated. The routing table is modified to include the routing entry, based on a set of hash functions. Upon accessing the generated routing entry in the modified routing table responsive to a subsequent lookup request for the source address, the set of caches is modified to include the generated routing entry.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received by a switch module having bridge elements and a routing table divided into slices of buckets, each slice having a respective property and including one or more buckets. If a routing entry for the source address is found in a first slice of a first set of buckets of the routing table responsive to a lookup request for the source address, and the property of the first slice satisfies a replication condition, then the routing entry is replicated to a second set of buckets of the routing table.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch having multiple switch modules. Upon determining that an attempt to insert a first routing entry into a first hash table of the routing table has failed, a second routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved to a second hash table of the routing table. If the move attempt is successful, then the first routing entry is added to the location previously occupied by the second routing entry. If the move attempt is unsuccessful, then a third routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved.

Abstract: Link aggregation is a practice that uses multiple Ethernet links between two end points in order to obtain higher bandwidth and resiliency than possible with a single link. A flow distribution technique is provided to distribute traffic between the two end points equally across all links in the group and achieve greater efficiency. The flow distribution technique generates and sub-divides a hash value based on received packet flow. The divided portions of the hash value are used in a hierarchical fashion to select a link to use for this packet.

Abstract: Link aggregation is a practice that uses multiple Ethernet links between two end points in order to obtain higher bandwidth and resiliency than possible with a single link. A flow distribution technique is provided to distribute traffic between the two end points equally across all links in the group and achieve greater efficiency. The flow distribution technique generates and sub-divides a hash value based on received packet flow. The divided portions of the hash value are used in a hierarchical fashion to select a link to use for this packet.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for managing a routing table in a distributed network switch. The distributed network switch is divided into logical switch partitions, or logical networks, that may share a routing table. The shared routing table is configured with counters and thresholds to control utilization of the routing table on a per-logical network basis. When counters exceed certain threshold, the routing table is modified to reduce routing entries within the routing table or pause insertion of new routing entries.

Abstract: A network node that forwards traffic of a converged network received from a source end node receives a second message addressed to the network node, but intended for the source end node. The second message includes at least a portion of a first message originated by the source end node and previously forwarded by the network node. The network node extracts from the first message a source identifier of the source end node in a first communication protocol and determines by reference to a data structure a destination address of the second message in a second communication protocol. The network node modifies the second message to include the destination address and forwards the second message toward the source end node in accordance with the destination address.

Abstract: Access control lists (ACLs) permit network administrators to manage network traffic flowing through a networking element to optimize network security, performance, quality of service (QoS), and the like. If a networking element has multiple ACLs directed towards different types of network optimization, each ACL may return a separate action set that identifies one or more actions the networking element should perform based on a received frame. In some cases, these action sets may conflict. To resolve the conflicts, a networking element may include resolution logic that selects one of the conflicting actions based on a predefined precedence value assigned to each action in an action set. By comparing the different precedence values, the resolution logic generates a new action set based on the actions with the highest precedence value.

Abstract: Access control lists (ACLs) include one or more rules that each define a condition and one or more actions to be performed if the condition is satisfied. In one embodiment, the conditions are stored on a ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM), which receives a portion of network traffic, such as a frame header, and compares different portions of the header to entries in the TCAM. If the frame header satisfies the condition, the TCAM reports the match to other elements in the ACL. For certain conditions, the TCAM may divide the condition into a plurality of sub-conditions which are each stored in a row of the TCAM. To efficiently use the limited space in TCAM, the networking element may include one or more comparator units which check for special-case conditions. The comparator units may be used in lieu of the TCAM to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch having multiple switch modules. Upon determining that an attempt to insert a first routing entry into a first hash table of the routing table has failed, a second routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved to a second hash table of the routing table. If the move attempt is successful, then the first routing entry is added to the location previously occupied by the second routing entry. If the move attempt is unsuccessful, then a third routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch having multiple switch modules. Upon determining that an attempt to insert a first routing entry into a first hash table of the routing table has failed, a second routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved to a second hash table of the routing table. If the move attempt is successful, then the first routing entry is added to the location previously occupied by the second routing entry. If the move attempt is unsuccessful, then a third routing entry, which exists in the first hash table, is attempted to be moved.

Abstract: Access control lists (ACLs) include one or more rules that each define a condition and one or more actions to be performed if the condition is satisfied. In one embodiment, the conditions are stored on a ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM), which receives a portion of network traffic, such as a frame header, and compares different portions of the header to entries in the TCAM. If the frame header satisfies the condition, the TCAM reports the match to other elements in the ACL. For certain conditions, the TCAM may divide the condition into a plurality of sub-conditions which are each stored in a row of the TCAM. To efficiently use the limited space in TCAM, the networking element may include one or more comparator units which check for special-case conditions. The comparator units may be used in lieu of the TCAM to determine whether the condition is satisfied.

Abstract: According to embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method for operating a network processor. The network processor receiving a first data packet in a stream of data packets and a set of receive-queues adapted to store receive data packets. The network processor processing the first data packet by reading a flow identification in the first data packet; determining a quality of service for the first data packet; mapping the flow identification and the quality of service into an index for selecting a first receive-queue for routing the first data packet; and utilizing the index to route the first data packet to the first receive-queue.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for hash-based routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received. If no routing entry for the source address is found in a routing table of a switch module in the distributed network switch, routing information is determined for the source address and a routing entry is generated. The routing table is modified to include the routing entry and based on a set of hash functions.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for cached routing table management in a distributed network switch. A frame having a source address and a destination address is received. If no routing entry for the source address is found in a routing table of a switch module in the distributed network switch, then routing information is determined for the source address and a routing entry is generated. The routing table is modified to include the routing entry, based on a set of hash functions. Upon accessing the generated routing entry in the modified routing table responsive to a subsequent lookup request for the source address, the set of caches is modified to include the generated routing entry.