System and method for achieving enhanced performance with multiple networking central processing unit (CPU) cores

摘要

The present disclosure discloses a method and network device for achieving enhanced performance with multiple CPU cores in a network device having a symmetric multiprocessing architecture. The disclosed method allows for storing, by each central processing unit (CPU) core, a non-atomic data structure, which is specific to each networking CPU core, in a memory shared by the plurality of CPU cores. Also, the memory is not associated with any locking mechanism. In response to a data packet is received by a particular CPU core, the disclosed system will update a value of the non-atomic data structure corresponding to the particular CPU core. The data structure may be a counter or a fragment table. Further, a dedicated CPU core is allocated to process only data packets received from other CPU cores, and is responsible for dynamically responding to queries receives from a control plane process.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
maintaining, by each central processing unit (CPU) core in a network device having symmetric multiprocessing architecture comprising a plurality of CPU cores, a data structures that are specific to each of the CPU core, in a memory shared by the plurality of CPU cores; and in response to receiving a data packet by a particular CPU core, the particular CPU core updating a value of the data structure corresponding to the particular CPU core without using any locking mechanism.