Function for directing packets

• US 20060004782A1
• Filed: 04/30/2004
• Published: 01/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Eldar, Avigdor
• Granted Patent: US 7,257,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/12 Protocol engines
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

In certain embodiments, a key is received, wherein a value is capable of being generated from the key and an input string corresponding to a packet. Intermediary values are computed based on substrings of the key and substrings of the input string. The intermediary values are stored in a data structure, wherein the stored intermediary values are capable of being used to generate the value.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a key, wherein a value is capable of being generated from the key and an input string corresponding to a packet;

computing intermediary values based on substrings of the key and substrings of the input string; and

storing the intermediary values in a data structure, wherein the stored intermediary values are capable of being used to generate the value.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the input string; and

computing the value by aggregating results obtained from the stored intermediary values in the data structure.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

queuing the packet corresponding to the received input string to a corresponding processor of a plurality of processors, wherein queuing the packet is based on the value.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

performing exclusive OR operations on selected intermediary values based on bits in the received input string, prior to computing the value.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein storing the intermediary values in the data structure is performed prior to receiving the input string, and wherein computing the value is performed subsequent to receiving the input string.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the value is a hash value, and wherein the intermediary value is a partial hash value, wherein the input string corresponds to header information stored in the packet, further comprising:

distributing a plurality of packets among a plurality of processors based on hash values corresponding to the plurality of packets, wherein the hash values are computed from the partial hash values stored in the data structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrings of the key are of a first predetermined length, and the substrings of the input string are of a second predetermined length, and wherein the data structure represents a lookup table.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the key is a secret key generated by an operating system, and wherein receiving, computing, and storing are performed by an application in a computational platform including a network interface hardware that does not provide support for receive side scaling.

9. A system, comprising:

a memory; and

circuitry coupled to the memory, wherein the circuitry is operable to;

receive a key, wherein a value is capable of being generated from the key and an input string corresponding to a packet;

compute intermediary values based on substrings of the key and substrings of the input string; and

store the intermediary values in a data structure, wherein the stored intermediary values are capable of being used to generate the value.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

receive the input string; and

compute the value by aggregating results obtained from the intermediary values stored in the data structure.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

queue the packet corresponding to the received input string to a corresponding processor of a plurality of processors, wherein the value is used to queue the packet.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

perform exclusive OR operations on selected intermediary values based on bits in the received input string, prior to computing the value.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein storage of the intermediary values in the data structure is performed prior to a reception of the input string, and wherein computation of the value is performed subsequent to the reception of the input string.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the value is a hash value, wherein the intermediary value is a partial hash value, wherein the input string corresponds to header information stored in the packet, and wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

distribute a plurality of packets among a plurality of processors based on hash values corresponding to the plurality of packets, wherein the hash values are computed from the stored partial hash values stored in the data structure.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the substrings of the key are of a first predetermined length, and the substrings of the input string are of a second predetermined length, and wherein the data structure represents a lookup table.

16. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a computational platform having the circuitry;

a network interface hardware coupled to the computational platform, wherein the network interface hardware does not provide hardware support for calculating the value;

an operating system implemented in the computational platform, wherein the key is a secret key generated by the operating system; and

an application implemented in the computational platform, wherein reception of the key, computation of the intermediary values, and storage of the intermediary values are performed by the application in a computational platform.

17. A system, comprising:

a computational platform;

a storage controller implemented in the computational platform;

memory implemented in the computational platform; and

circuitry coupled to the memory, wherein the circuitry is operable to;

receive a key, wherein a value is capable of being generated from the key and an input string corresponding to a packet;

compute intermediary values based on substrings of the key and substrings of the input string; and

store the intermediary values in a data structure, wherein the stored intermediary values are capable of being used to generate the value.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

receive the input string; and

compute the value by aggregating results obtained from the stored intermediary values in the data structure.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

queue the packet corresponding to the received input string to a corresponding processor of a plurality of processors, wherein the value is used to queue the packet.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the value is a hash value, and wherein the intermediary value is a partial hash value, wherein the input string corresponds to header information stored in the packet, wherein the circuitry is further operable to:

distribute a plurality of packets among a plurality of processors based on hash values corresponding to the plurality of packets, wherein the hash values are computed from the partial hash values stored in the data structure.

21. An article of manufacture, comprising a storage medium having stored therein instructions capable of being executed by a machine to:

receive a key, wherein a value is capable of being generated from the key and an input string corresponding to a packet;

compute intermediary values based on substrings of the key and substrings of the input string; and

store the intermediary values in a data structure, wherein the stored intermediary values are capable of being used to generate the value.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the instructions are further capable of being executed by a machine to:

receive the input string; and

compute the value by aggregating results obtained from the intermediary values stored in the data structure.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein the instructions are further capable of being executed by a machine to:

queue the packet corresponding to the received input string to a corresponding processor of a plurality of processors, wherein the value is used to queue the packet.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further capable of being executed by a machine to:

perform exclusive OR operations on selected intermediary values based on bits in the received input string, prior to computing the value.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein storage of the intermediary values in the data structure is performed prior to a reception of the input string, and wherein computation of the value is performed subsequent to the reception of the input string.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the value is a hash value, wherein the intermediary value is a partial hash value, wherein the input string corresponds to header information stored in the packet, and wherein the instructions are further capable of being executed by a machine to:

distribute a plurality of packets among a plurality of processors based on hash values corresponding to the plurality of packets, wherein the hash values are computed from the partial hash values stored in the data structure.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the substrings of the key are of a first predetermined length, and the substrings of the input string are of a second predetermined length, and wherein the data structure represents a lookup table.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the key is a secret key generated by an operating system, and wherein reception of the key, computation of the intermediary values, and storage of the intermediary values are performed by an application in a computational platform including a network interface hardware, wherein the network interface hardware does not provide support for receive side scaling.