Abstract: A load balancing mechanism and technique that monitors a memory interface associated with a processor resource in a processor pool associated with at least one node of a computer network. The monitoring determines the actual load activity executed by the processor during a specified period of time. The mechanism comprises a hardware access monitor configured to determine the true activity of each processor resource. The access monitor tracks certain memory requests over the memory interface and stores the requests in a counter assigned to each processor. The access monitor then collects statistics from each processor resource of the pool and provides those statistics to a central load balancing resource for use when determining assignment of loads (tasks) to the various processor resources.

Abstract: A cache blocking mechanism ensures that transient data is not stored in a secondary cache of a router by managing a designated set of buffers in a main memory of the router. The mechanism defines a window of virtual addresses that map to predetermined physical memory addresses associated with the set of buffers; in the illustrative embodiment, only transient data may be stored in these buffers. The mechanism further blocks write requests directed to these predetermined memory buffers from propagating to the secondary cache, thereby precluding storage of transient data in the cache.

Abstract: An error detection generator calculates error detection data for insertion into encapsulated frames. The error detection generator is configured to calculate multiple error detection values and insert them into corresponding fields of the encapsulated frames. The error detection generator includes a controller, three cyclic redundancy check (CRC) engines and at least one multiplexer. Each CRC engine is selectively enabled by the controller to calculate a frame check sequence (FCS) value on a different portion of the frame. Downstream CRC engines also receive the outputs from the upstream CRC engines so that these earlier FCS values may be used during subsequent calculations. The outputs of the CRC engines are also inserted into the appropriate fields of the encapsulated frames by the multiplexer.

Abstract: A cache blocking mechanism ensures that transient data is not stored in a secondary cache of a router by managing a designated set of buffers in a main memory of the router. The mechanism defines a window of virtual addresses that map to predetermined physical memory addresses associated with the set of buffers; in the illustrative embodiment, only transient data may be stored in these buffers. The mechanism further blocks write requests directed to these predetermined memory buffers from propagating to the secondary cache, thereby precluding storage of transient data in the cache.