Patent ID: 7873041

Claim:
An apparatus for searching a forwarding table, the apparatus comprising: a data storage unit storing a forwarding table including: a plurality of search groups arranged according to MAC address values; a plurality of search-forwarding entries arranged according to MAC address values and stored in each search group, and a plurality of forwarding databases having hash keys corresponding to the search groups, a hashing unit configured to transform an externally input MAC address into a hash key including a first key component and a second key component, and a port information output unit including: a first comparator configured to compare the first key component of the input MAC address with a MAC address extracted from a forwarding entry in a search group to select a search group; and a second comparator configured to compare the second key component of the input MAC address with the MAC address extracted from a search-forwarding entry in the selected search group to select a matched search-forwarding entry, wherein the port information output unit outputs the output port information of the matched search-forwarding entry if the input MAC address matches the MAC address of the search-forwarding entry in the selected search group, and outputs output port information after searching and acquiring a forwarding entry having the input MAC address while dividing a search area in the search group, when the input MAC address is different from the extracted MAC address.