Abstract: A system analyzes past sales data to identify those product assortments that may lead to the largest sales volume for the product category. The system estimates an incremental sales volume increase associated with each of one or more product assortments. The system may further identify which assortment will result in the largest sales volume for the product category, and may generate a ranking of the one or more assortments based on their associated incremental sales volume increase.

Abstract: Transparent point-to-point connectivity is provided between an incoming interface on an ingress node and an outgoing interface on an egress node in a network. An address associated with the egress node is circulated to the nodes in the network and a next hop address toward the egress node address is determined at each node. A label value is circulated along with the egress node address to the nodes. Examples of label values can include VLAN Ids or Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) labels. If data is received having the label value, the node receiving the data identifies the next hop address associated with that label value and transfers the data to the next hop associated with the identified next hop address.

Abstract: Method and apparatus are disclosed for flow control over Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) data links. A method of negotiating such flow control between two PPP peers is disclosed, along with methods for operating flow control across a PPP link. In one embodiment, flow control frames carry an IEEE802.3x MAC control frame payload—the PPP implementation repackages such frames as MAC control frames and passes them to a MAC, which performs flow control. In another embodiment, flow control frames allow flow control commands to be applied differently to different service classes such that PPP flow can be controlled on a per-class basis.

Abstract: A devices and method for parsing a data stream comprises a parser stack configured to store one or more parsing symbols, each parsing symbol representing a different state of data stream parsing, a table interface configured to retrieve one or more production rules from a production rule table according to the parsing symbols, and a state machine configured to control the parsing of a data stream according to the retrieved production rules.

Abstract: A device comprises a plurality of interface circuits configured for communicating between a semantic processing unit and a memory and a selection circuit for selecting an interface circuit allocated to a semantic processing unit for processing a data operation request in the memory.

Abstract: A device performs lookup functions for a semantic processing unit. The device comprises a plurality of interface circuits for receiving data operation requests from the semantic processing unit. The device comprises a buffer for allocating an interface circuit to a semantic processing unit having a data operation request. A selection circuit, coupled between the plurality of interface circuits and a memory unit, selects an allocated circuit for accessing the memory unit to process the data operation request.

Abstract: A system and method for parsing a data stream comprises a production rule table populated with production rules, a parser table populated with production rule codes that correspond to production rules within the production rule table, and a direct execution parser to identify production rule codes in the parser table and to retrieve production rules from the production rule table according to the identified production rule codes, the direct execution parser is operable to parse a data stream according to the retrieved production rules.

Abstract: A memory subsystem includes multiple different caches configured for different types of data transfer operations between one or more processing units and a main memory. The different caches can include a first general cache configured for general random memory accesses, a software controlled cache used for controlling cache operations for different processing devices accessing the same data, and a streaming cache configured for large packet data memory accesses. An arbiter may be used for arbitrating requests by the multiple different caches for accessing the main memory.

Abstract: A storage server uses a semantic processor to parse and respond to client requests. A direct execution parser in the semantic processor parses an input stream, comprising client storage server requests, according to a defined grammar. A semantic processor execution engine capable of manipulating data (e.g., data movement, mathematical, and logical operations) executes microcode segments in response to requests from the direct execution parser in order to perform the client-requested operations. The resulting operational efficiency allows an entire storage server to be collapsed in some embodiments into a few relatively small integrated circuits that can be placed on a media device's printed circuit board, with the semantic processor itself drawing perhaps a few Watts of power.

Abstract: A high-speed router and method for operation of the core of such a router are disclosed. The disclosure describes switching packet data through a router core serving core ingress and egress ports. The router maintains at least one always-up ingress serial link from each core ingress port to the router core, and at least one always-up egress serial link from the router core to each core egress port. For each core ingress port, packet data is serialized prior to introduction to the router core and then transmitted to the core over that port's ingress serial link. Each core egress port receives a serialized data stream from the router core, which is then deserialized. Within the router core, the serialized data received on each ingress serial link is deserialized into a clocked digital data stream. The digital data streams are switched through a reconfigurable digital switch, reserialized, and transmitted over the egress serial links.

Abstract: A high-speed router and method for operation of the core of such a router are disclosed. The disclosure describes routing packets from core input ports to core output ports by aggregating or queuing packets at router core ingress ports in queues designated for common router core egress ports. A scheduler selects a set of queues, up to one per ingress port, for switching through the router core at each epoch (an epoch is a time slice). When the epoch for a given set of queues arrives, data from each queue is stranded, with one strand sent to each of multiple switch fabric cards. The switch fabric cards operate in parallel to switch the strands from that queue to a common egress port (as configured by the scheduler), where the strands are recombined to reconstruct the original queue data. This architecture can be made fault tolerant, can be made to degrade gracefully when one or more switch fabric cards goes down, and can support increased traffic simply by expanding the number of switch fabric cards.

Abstract: A storage server uses a semantic processor to parse and respond to client requests. A direct execution parser in the semantic processor parses an input stream, comprising client storage server requests, according to a defined grammar. A semantic processor execution engine capable of manipulating data (e.g., data movement, mathematical, and logical operations) executes microcode segments in response to requests from the direct execution parser in order to perform the client-requested operations. The resulting operational efficiency allows an entire storage server to be collapsed in some embodiments into a few relatively small integrated circuits that can be placed on a media device's printed circuit board, with the semantic processor itself drawing perhaps a few Watts of power.

Abstract: A data rate controller controls a rate that data is transferred over a backplane in a network processing device. A bandwidth allocator allocates bandwidth to an input port for transmitting data over the backplane to an output port. A bandwidth limiter identifies a maximum allowable bandwidth the input port is allocated on the backplane. A bandwidth tracker identifies an amount of bandwidth currently allocated to the input port for transmitting data over the backplane to the output port. When the current allocated bandwidth is used up, the data rate controller prevents that input port from connecting to output ports through the backplane until more bandwidth is allocated.

Abstract: Data processors and methods for their configuration and use are disclosed. As opposed to traditional von Neumann microprocessors, the disclosed processors are semantic processors—they parse an input stream and direct one or more semantic execution engines to execute code segments, depending on what is being parsed. For defined-structure input streams such as packet data streams, these semantic processors can be both economical and fast as compared to a von Neumann system. Several optional components can augment device operation. For instance, a machine context data interface relieves the semantic execution engines from managing physical memory, allows the orderly access to memory by multiple engines, and implements common access operations. Further, a simple von Neumann exception-processing unit can be attached to a semantic execution engine to execute more complicated, but infrequent or non-time-critical operations.

Abstract: A system and method for isolating TCP comprises a proxy configured to manage a plurality of sessions including at least one transmission control protocol session, wherein the proxy translates data between the transmission control protocol session and a local session.

Abstract: A firewall device provides a novel architecture for conducting firewall and other network interface management operations over a wired Ethernet connection. The firewall device includes a first network interface for connecting to a first packet switched network connection that transports packets, a second network interface for connecting to a second packet switched network connection that transports packets, and firewall circuitry configured to perform firewall operations on the packets transported between the first and second network interfaces and being powered entirely through power received through one of the first and second network interfaces over one of the first or second packet switched network connections.

Abstract: A network processing device provides a novel architecture for conducting firewall and other network interface management operations. In another aspect of the invention, a Unified Policy Management (UPM) architecture uses a same memory and processing structure to integrate firewall policy management with routing and switching decisions. In another embodiment, a Reconfigurable Semantic Processor (RSP) uses a parser to identify different syntactic elements that are then used by one or more Semantic Processing Units (SPUs) to carry out different firewall, network interface, routing, switching, and other packet processing operations.

Abstract: A high-speed router and method for operation of the core of such a router are disclosed. A switch fabric serves a plurality of ingress and egress ports. Packets are sorted into queues at each ingress port, each queue corresponding to one of the egress ports. Queue status information for each ingress port is communicated to a central scheduler. The scheduler reconfigures the switch fabric to a new port mapping once per epoch, where an epoch is long enough to allow each ingress port to transmit a large plurality of queued packets. The scheduler also sends port mapping information to the ingress ports, so that those ports can match one of their queues with the egress port mapping for each epoch. The switch fabric can achieve extremely high throughput since it doesn't recognize and switch packets per se, but deals with large multi-packet blocks that can be efficiently scheduled by the central scheduler.

Abstract: A computer architecture uses a PushDown Automaton (PDA) and a Context Free Grammar (CFG) to process data. A PDA engine maintains semantic states that correspond to semantic elements in an input data set. The PDA engine does not have to maintain a new state for each new character in a target search string and typically only transitions to a new state when the entire semantic element is detected. The PDA engine can therefore use a smaller and more predictable state table than DFA algorithms. Transitions between the semantic states are managed using a stack that allows multiple semantic states to be represented by a single nested non-terminal symbol.

Abstract: Data processors and methods for their configuration and use are disclosed. As opposed to traditional von Neumann microprocessors, the disclosed processors are semantic processors—they parse an input stream and direct one or more semantic execution engines to execute code segments, depending on what is being parsed. For defined-structure input streams such as packet data streams, these semantic processors can be both economical and fast as compared to a von Neumann system. Several optional components can augment device operation. For instance, a machine context data interface relieves the semantic execution engines from managing physical memory, allows the orderly access to memory by multiple engines, and implements common access operations. Further, a simple von Neumann exception-processing unit can be attached to a semantic execution engine to execute more complicated, but infrequent or non-time-critical operations.