Cisco Technology, Inc.

Gilad Hazan

Doron Shoham

In one embodiment, updating and searching of entries in a hardware content-addressable memory is coordinated to provide more searching bandwidth (e.g., for determining packet processing information), including, but not limited to, when vectors are moved among entries to free up desired entry positions for insertion of other vectors. A lookup operation is performed in content-addressable memory entries in a hardware content-addressable memory based on a lookup word to generate a content-addressable memory lookup result. Typically overlapping in time, a matching operation is performed in one or more transitory entries to generate a transitory matching result based on the lookup word. These transitory entries are populated with transitory vectors and have an associated index within the content-addressable memory, with these transitory vectors are subsequently inserted in the content-addressable memory at their associated index positions. A matching result is determined from the content-addressable memory lookup result and the transitory matching result.

Coordinated updating and searching a content-addressable memory including for packet processing operations

In one embodiment, an associative memory is built using multiple cascaded associative memory blocks, with stored lookup words spanning a same or different numbers of associative memory blocks. A first lookup operation is performed by a first associative memory to generate first matching indications of associative entries of the first associative memory that match both the first lookup word and the first lookup type. A second lookup operation is performed by an end associative memory to generate end matching indications of associative entries of the end associative memory that match both the end lookup word and the end of word lookup type. A final lookup result indicating a matching multi-block spanning associative memory entry based on the first matching indications and the end matching indications is determined and signaled by the associative memory is built using multiple cascaded associative memory blocks.

Growing community of inventors

Shoham, Israel

Gilad Hazan