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Network router search engine using compressed tree forwarding table

  • US 6,192,051 B1
  • Filed: 02/26/1999
  • Issued: 02/20/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for identifying a next hop address of a network to which packets should be forwarded, the apparatus comprising a memory storing a forwarding table, the forwarding table comprising a first-level table having entries directly addressable by a first field of address bits from an address field of the packets, and a second-level table having entries associatively addressable by a second field of address bits from the address field of the packets, the first-level table being operative to provide (i) a next hop index indicative of a next hop network address for those packets having addresses for which the first field of address bits is sufficient to determine the next hop address, and (ii) a pointer to the second-level table for those packets having addresses for which the first field of address bits is not sufficient to determine the next hop address, and the second-level table being operative to provide a next hop index indicative of a next hop network address for those packets having address for which the first and second fields of address bits are sufficient to determine the next hop address.

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