Packet storage system for traffic handling

Abstract

Variable size incoming data packets are queued by generating from each data packet a record portion of predetermined fixed size and containing information about the packet. Data portions of the packets are stored in independent memory locations in a first memory while the record portions are stored in one or more managed queues in a second memoryhaving fixed size memory locations matching the size of the record portions. The first memoryis larger than the second memory. The memory locations in the first memory are arranged in blocks having two or more different sizes. Data portions that are too large to be stored in a single memory block are stored as linked lists in a plurality of blocks with pointers pointing to the next block. The memory locations are preferably matched to the most commonly occurring sizes of data packets so that nearly all packets are stored in one respective location. The memory locations in the first memory are preferably allocated from a local poolof available addresses in batches from a central pool