Abstract: A method for improving the performance of an existing busoriented computer system with minimum or no design change to the existing hardware, bus protocol, or bus operation is disclosed. Specifically, the present invention improves the effective bandwidth of an existing bus architecture by creating multiple physical instantiations of the existing bus and directing traffic onto these different buses based on the type of bus operation being performed. This results in multiple components having the capability to simultaneously perform bus operations, therefore improving the effective bandwidth of the system. This invention also allows the components which are current being utilized in the existing bus architecture to be re-utilized with minimum additional external logic.

Abstract: A system and method for efficiently routing data within a network, such as a local area network. A search tree is utilized within the bridge/router in order to store addresses. The search tree is utilized by the router for more efficiently and more quickly determining where one or more received frames of data are to be transmitted within the network. Maintenance of the search trees is also provided so that new addresses may be added to the search trees and addresses may be deleted from the search trees. The search trees are developed by partitioning the addresses into bit groups.