Cisco Technology, Inc.

Hugh Nhan

Andrew McRae

Liang Li

Thanh Trung Dao

Leo Temoshenko

Nathan Allen Mitchell

Robert Leroy King

Jonathan D Douglas

George R Everhart

Douglas W Currie

Charles M Parker

In one embodiment, a super class that contains a plurality of matching rules is generated. The matching rules of the super class are converted into a hierarchical arrangement of lookup tables and equivalence sets, the hierarchical arrangement having a plurality of levels including a first level and a final level. A final equivalence set is associated with the final level. The lookup tables and final equivalence set are then used to generate a results table that indicates a network packet is associated with a particular class.

Method for classifying packets using multi-class structures

A technique for classifying a packet in a deterministic number of lookup operations. The technique builds a single 'super class' that contains the match criteria for all the rules associated with packet classification. The 'super class' is then compiled to produce a series of lookup tables and equivalence sets, including a final lookup table and equivalence set. The final equivalence set is then &#x201c;post-processed&#x201d; to associate the entries in the final lookup table with a particular result.

In a pipeline network processor, a packet intercept feature determines whether a packet is to be intercepted based on the inbound and outbound port through which the packet travels and based on the source and destination of the packet. When a packet enters the pipeline network processor, a determination is made as to whether the inbound and outbound ports are enabled for packet intercept. If so, a source and/or destination media access control address is compared to a list of configured intercept addresses. If a match is found, a copy of the packet is diverted to an intercept receiver and the original packet is forwarded to its intended destination.

System and method for intercepting packets in a pipeline network processor

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Cary, NC, United States of America

Hugh Nhan