Abstract: A system and a method for managing forwarding table lookups and updates involve maintaining a first forwarding table in a first memory and a second forwarding table in a second memory, and then utilizing the first forwarding table to forward packets while the second forwarding table is updated with current route entries. The second forwarding table is updated in the background and therefore conventional CPU speeds do not cause performance problems. Once the second forwarding table is completely updated, a forwarding table pointer is switched and the second forwarding table is utilized to forward packets while the first forwarding table is updated. Because the second forwarding table has been completely updated in the background, switching the forwarding table pointer causes newly arriving packets to be forwarded according to a forwarding table that is free of inconsistencies.

Abstract: A method and a system for controlling data flow through a network device involve regulating a first flow of network traffic with a first traffic control rule, regulating a second flow of network traffic with a second traffic control rule, and then regulating the passed portion of the two flows with a third traffic control rule that is generic to both the first flow and the second flow. The third traffic control rule regulates the passed portions of the first flow and the second flow on an aggregate basis, such that the total amount of traffic passed by the third traffic control rule does not exceed a predefined bandwidth limit. By regulating the bandwidth consumption of a group of flows with at least two levels of traffic control rules, bandwidth consumption can be simultaneously controlled for narrowly defined flows and more broadly defined flows.