Patent ID: 7274693

Claim:
A method for utilizing a search engine to examine entries within a forwarding table, the method comprising: acquiring a first comparison criterion, the first comparison criterion including a mask indicating which bits of the entries are to be considered, a comparand value to be compared to the bits to be considered, and a comparison type to be used in comparing the entries with the first comparison criterion; acquiring at least one action associated with the first comparison criterion to be taken upon a positive comparison result; acquiring a second comparison criterion, the second comparison criterion including a mask indicating which bits of the entries are to be considered, a comparand value to be compared to the bits to be considered, and a comparison type to be used in comparing the entries with the second comparison criterion; acquiring at least one action associated with the second comparison criterion to be taken upon a positive comparison result; conducting a single comparison in accordance with the first comparison criterion and the second comparison criterion to at least one entry within the forwarding table; taking the at least one action associated with the first comparison criterion in response to a positive comparison result with respect to the first comparison criterion; taking the at least one action associated with the second comparison criterion in response to a positive comparison result with respect to the second comparison criterion; and reporting comparison matches for either or both of the first and second comparison criterion by writing the addresses of the matched entries to a memory.