Abstract: Techniques within a network device to execute periodic packet management (PPM) used to determine the health of a network. The inline mode of periodic packet management may be more efficient than other modes of periodic packet management such as centralized mode or distributed mode. The number of inline entries for a given hardware table may be limited, which means that once the number of inline entries in the table has reached the size limit, then any new entries must be managed in the distributed mode or the centralized mode. The techniques of this disclosure may improve the efficiency of a network device by replacing inline entries handled at a lower frequency in the hardware table with entries for periodic packets that are handled with a higher frequency (shorter periodic interval). In this manner, the entries with shorter periodic intervals may be managed using the more efficient inline mode.

Abstract: A network device may select a candidate entry to remove from a media access control (MAC) table maintained at the network device based on determining that the MAC table is exhausted. The candidate entry may include an identifier for a first virtual local area network (VLAN) associated with the candidate entry. The network device may receive a packet from a source node having a MAC address that does not appear in the MAC table, where the packet may include an identifier for a second VLAN in which the source node is a member. The network device may replace the candidate entry in the MAC table with a new entry corresponding to the source node based on determining that the second VLAN is associated with a greater number of ports than the first VLAN.