Patent ID: 8924640

Claim:
A method of dynamically allocating records to a plurality of clusters in a Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM), the method comprising: allocating a respective number of records to each of the plurality of clusters of a first type; allocating a number of empty records to a cluster of a second type; monitoring, for each cluster of the first type, a respective number of non-empty records; comparing, for each cluster of the first type, the respective number of non-empty records to a respective first threshold; and increasing the respective number of records allocated to a given cluster of the first type when the respective number of non-empty records of that cluster is greater than the respective first threshold of that cluster by progressively rolling down the non-empty records in an iterative manner a. by decrementing the number of records allocated to the cluster of the second type by a first plurality records; and incrementing the respective number of records allocated to the given cluster of the first type by the first plurality records.