Patent ID: 6985964

Claim:
A method of packet processing comprising: parsing a packet using a first peripheral processor, said packet having a header portion, to determine a vector; coordinating processing using said vector; deconstructing said packet header to form header data using a second peripheral processor; searching one or more data structures based on said header data to produce search results using a third peripheral processor; and editing said packet based on said search results, said header data, and said vector using a fourth peripheral processor; wherein said deconstructing comprises forming a search argument, said coordinating comprises, storing data within a shared register set coupled to each of said peripheral processors, sharing said data with said parsing, said deconstructing, said searching, and said editing, monitoring said deconstructing, said searching, and said editing, and operating on said search argument to form a modified search argument prior to said searching, and said searching uses said modified search argument.