Patent ID: 8861241

Claim:
A content addressable memory (CAM) device, the device comprising: a plurality of CAM blocks, each CAM block including an array of CAM cells for storing a number of data entries; a parser circuit configured to extract a profile identification (ID) from a search request provided by an external source; a profile table to output a selected one of a plurality of search profiles in response to the profile ID, wherein the selected search profile identifies a group of the CAM blocks to participate in a search operation; a power control unit including a first function generator configured to generate a hashed search value in response to a search key, wherein the hashed search value comprises a plurality of block disable signals that prevents a selected subset of the identified group of CAM blocks from participating in the search operation; and a block selection controller configured to logically combine the plurality of block disable signals with the selected search profile to generate a plurality of block enable signals, wherein each block enable signal selectively enables a corresponding one of the CAM blocks to participate in the search operation.