Patent ID: 6249521
Filing Date: 2001-06-19
Classification: G06F,G11C,H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
A multiport switch configured for controlling communication of data frames between stations, comprising:a receive device for receiving data frames;an address table for storing address information including both source addresses and destination addresses, the table representing a plurality of bins of address entries;a hash key generator coupled to the receive device and configured to receive a source address and a destination address of a data frame and to generate a hash key for the source address and a hash key for the destination address, the hash key generator includinga hash function circuit configured for generating a hash generated polynomial for the address of the corresponding data packet according to the user-specified hash function;a polynomial enable register storing a polynomial enable value specifying a number of the bits in the respective hash key; anda logic circuit receiving the hash-generated polynomial and the polynomial enable value and outputting a portion of said hash-generated polynomial as the corresponding hash key; andan internal decision making engine coupled to the receive device and configured to:receive the source address, the destination address, a receive port number indicating the port on which the frame was received, the source address hash key and the destination address hash key for the data frame, andgenerate data forwarding information for the data frame based on the received information.