Conditional Packet Actions for Low-Latency Ethernet Bridging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Data management systems face challenges with network address learning and Ethernet bridging, causing system latency due to lookup operations that could be more productively utilized.
Innovation Solution
A data management system that facilitates conditional action execution using a single key associated with multiple actions, selecting actions based on qualifying ranges and instruction pointers for efficient network address learning and Ethernet bridging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If lookup operations are performed for network address learning and Ethernet bridging, then network address management is achieved, but system latency increases and instruction cycles are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-computing and storing forwarding information in forwarding tables before actual data packet processing. The system performs network address learning and Ethernet bridging operations in advance, storing the results in forwarding tables that can be quickly consulted during packet forwarding, thereby avoiding repeated lookup operations and reducing system latency during actual packet processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by performing selective lookup operations only when necessary. The system checks forwarding tables first and only performs detailed network address learning when the address is not found in the table, avoiding unnecessary lookup operations for addresses that are already cached, thus reducing overall system latency while maintaining reliable network address management
2Productivity
If lookup operations are performed to determine network topology and actions, then network packet handling is achieved, but valuable instruction cycles are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-determining and storing forwarding actions in forwarding tables during network address learning. The system performs the complex action determination process in advance and stores the results, allowing subsequent packet handling to use these pre-computed actions directly without repeating the complex determination logic, thus improving productivity while managing instruction cycle consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements copying by creating and storing copies of forwarding information in forwarding tables. Instead of performing repeated complex lookup operations for each packet, the system creates forwarding table entries that contain the determined actions and network topology information, copying this information from the detailed lookup results to the forwarding table for efficient reuse during packet processing
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments described herein support or provide for conditional action execution and management functions, such as receiving a data packet at a network bridge; identifying an instruction pointer that describes the lookup operation; generating a search argument based on data content of the data packet; causing the network bridge to perform a lookup operation; selecting an action based on a qualifying range; and processing the data packet based on the action.