Abstract: A method and system for controlling power consumption within a network node is disclosed. The method and system include dynamically controlling the power consumption of network processing engines based on predetermined thresholds. By dynamically controlling the power consumption of network processing engines based on predetermined thresholds, energy consumption of the overall network processing system is minimized, thereby reducing the operational costs of the system as well as increasing the overall efficiency of network operations. The method and system comprise allowing a queue to receive a plurality of data packets and dynamically controlling the power consumption of at least one of a plurality of processing engines based on a threshold.

Abstract: A network processor having a plurality of processing engines and packet assignment logic operable to selectively assign the received packets to the processing engines is disclosed. The packet assignment logic of the network processor distributes the received packets according to at least in part the packet size of previously distributed packets. In one embodiment, the packet assignment logic does not assign any packets to a processing engine that is already assigned a “large” packet. In this way, load balancing among the processing engines is improved, resulting in a higher performance network processor.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling power consumption within a network node is disclosed. The method and system include dynamically controlling the power consumption of network processing engines based on predetermined thresholds. By dynamically controlling the power consumption of network processing engines based on predetermined thresholds, energy consumption of the overall network processing system is minimized, thereby reducing the operational costs of the system as well as increasing the overall efficiency of network operations. The method and system comprise allowing a queue to receive a plurality of data packets and dynamically controlling the power consumption of at least one of a plurality of processing engines based on a threshold.