Apparatus and method for packet memory datapath processing in high bandwidth packet processing devices

摘要

A method of processing packets includes receiving packets and assigning the packets to different pages, where each page represents a fixed amount of memory. The different pages are distributed to different pools, where each pool has a unique mapping to banks, and where each bank is a set of memory resources. The different pages from the different pools are assigned to different banks in accordance with the unique mapping.

主权项

1. A packet processor, comprising:
a packet memory; and a packet memory manager in communication with the packet memory to allocate resources in the packet memory in accordance with a mapped hierarchy between pages, wherein each page represents a fixed amount of memory, pools assigned to a subset of the pages, and banks assigned to a subset of the pools, wherein each bank represents a set of memory resources, wherein the packet memory manager assigns selected pages to a selected pool, which distributes the selected pages to the banks associated with the selected pool, such that the mapped hierarchy provides load distribution within the packet memory.