Packet parsing and key generation in a network device

摘要

A packet being processed by a network device is parsed by a programmable processing unit executing computer readable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. Parsing the packet includes identifying one or more protocol layers within a header of the packet, identifying respective locations of protocol headers within the header of the packet, and providing the respective identified locations of protocol headers within the header of the packet to a hardware key generator block. A lookup key corresponding to the packet is generated by the key generator block using the respective identified locations. Generating the lookup key includes extracting, using an identified location of a protocol header, one or more fields from the corresponding protocol header. The lookup key is provided to a lookup engine. A lookup operation with respect to the packet is performed by the lookup engine and based on the lookup key.

主权项

1. A method for processing packets in a network device, the method comprising:
parsing a packet by a programmable processing unit executing computer readable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, including
identifying, by executing instructions stored in the non-transitory computer readable storage memory, respective locations of protocol headers within a header of the packet, the respective locations corresponding to respective one or more protocol layers, andupdating values of respective general purpose anchors to indicate the respective locations of the protocol headers, wherein the general purpose anchors do not globally correspond to specific protocol layers; generating, by a hardware key generator block and using the updated values of the respective general purpose anchors, a lookup key corresponding to the packet, including
extracting, using an updated value of one of the general purpose anchors, one or more fields from one of the protocol headers, andgenerating the lookup key to include the one or more fields; providing the lookup key to a lookup engine; and performing, by the lookup engine and based on the lookup key, a lookup operation with respect to the packet.