Patent ID: 8861347

Claim:
A communication apparatus, comprising: a content-Addressable Memory (CAM) storing in respective regions multiple Access Control Lists (ACLs) that are defined for respective packet types, wherein entries of at least one ACL, include an indication of a further ACL to which matching packets are to be applied; and packet processing circuitry, which is configured to receive input communication packets, to classify each received input packet to a respective packet type, to identify a region of the CAM holding an ACL defined for the selected packet type, and to process the input packet in accordance with a matching entry in the ACL stored in the identified region, wherein when the matching entry indicates a further ACL to be applied to the packet, the packet processing circuitry processes the input packet in accordance with a matching entry in the further ACL, wherein the entries of a first one of the ACLs have a next field with indications of further ACLs to be applied and the entries of a second one of the ACLs do not have a next field.