Packet forwarding method and system

摘要

Forwarding decisions for Internet Protocol packets/frames are provided. An IP address from received packets/frames is extracted and split into portions or parts, a prefix, offset and suffix. A prefix table is used to identify an entry with a longest match to the prefix. A base address is retrieved from the identified entry to generate an identifier used to locate another entry in another table. The other identified entry provides receiver data or information regarding the intended destination.

主权项

1. A method of determining receiver data by a networking device, the method comprising:
receiving information conforming to an Internet Protocol (IP) on an ingress router leg of the networking device; extracting an IP address from the information; identifying, by the networking device, an entry in a first table having a plurality of entries each comprising a destination IP address including a prefix and an offset, a first value corresponding to a number of bits of the destination IP address that are in the prefix indicating the length of the prefix, a second value corresponding to a number of bits in the offset indicating the length of the offset, and a base address, the entries being organized according to the length of the prefix and the identified entry having the longest prefix matching at least a portion of the extracted IP address; generating, by the networking device, an entry identifier by performing a predetermined mathematical operation on the base address of the identified entry and a portion of the IP address defined by the prefix length and the offset length of the identified entry; locating, by the networking device, an entry in a second table at the generated entry identifier; extracting, by the networking device, receiver data from the located entry in the second table; and supplying the information conforming to the Internet Protocol to an egress router leg of the networking device based on the receiver data.