Patent ID: 7106730
Filing Date: 2006-09-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a network switching system having an ingress processor for receiving incoming frames from a port of a network, and an egress processor having a port through which said frames are delivered, a method for enhancing processor speed comprising: forming at said ingress processor a header for each frame destined for said egress processor having data for identifying a beginning of a processing sequence for said egress processor; and decoding said data in said header in a hardware frame classifier into a starting address for said egress processor wherein decoding said data include indexing an address table in said hardware frame classifier; and executing processing from a starting address space identified by said table of said hardware classifier if said hardware classifier is enabled and executing processing of said frame beginning at a process execution level determined from a port configuration entry of the interface of the port said frame was received if a configuration bit of said egress processor indicates said hardware classifier has been disabled.