Abstract: Methods and apparatus are described for intelligently assigning a portion of a cluster's traffic (e.g., buckets) to a cache system to minimize overloading of such cache system. In general terms, when a new cache system enters a cache cluster and/or starts up, the new cache system's full bucket allocation is not immediately assigned to the new cache system. Instead, only a portion of the full bucket allocation is initially assigned to the new cache system. In one embodiment, the new cache system's bucket assignment is gradually increased until the cache system is handling it's full bucket allocation or it becomes overloaded. The cache system's load is also checked periodically to determine whether it has become overloaded. When the cache system becomes overloaded, buckets are immediately shed from the cache system. In sum, the new cache system's load is adjusted until it is handling an optimum number of buckets.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are described for controlling packet flow to a cache system is disclosed. A packet flow intended for a first destination is received into the cache system. When the packet flow indicates the start of the packet flow or when the packet flow is identified as being owned by the cache system, the packet flow is processed within the cache system. When the packet flow does not indicate the start of the packet flow and the packet flow is not identified as being owned by the cache system, the packet flow is directed back to the first destination.