Route Fragment Cache for Router Memory Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid growth of the Internet and increasing demands on Internet backbone routers lead to slow and complex IP routing lookups, making existing router designs inefficient due to large routing tables and high computation overhead, particularly in caching techniques.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a route fragment cache that stores subsets of routes from the routing table, allowing for optimal route fragmentation to reduce memory requirements and improve routing efficiency by using route fragments that do not intersect more specific routes, thereby enabling a more compact and economical routing cache.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the routing table stores complete routes to all subnets, then routing accuracy is improved, but memory requirements and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides complete routes into route fragments that can be cached separately. Instead of storing entire routes in the routing cache, the system stores fragmented route information that can be reassembled or referenced to achieve accurate routing decisions while using less memory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a route fragment cache as an intermediary between the full routing table and the routing decision process. This cache stores fragmented route information that mediates between complete routing accuracy and reduced memory requirements, allowing the system to achieve accurate routing without storing complete routes in cache.
2Measurement precision
If the routing cache stores more complete routes, then routing lookup accuracy is improved, but computation overhead and cache programming complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments routes into fragments with specific properties that simplify cache programming. By dividing routes into manageable fragments with defined characteristics, the system reduces the complexity of programming the routing cache while maintaining lookup accuracy through proper fragment management and reconstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of route representation by using route fragments with specific width and network address properties. This parameter transformation allows the routing cache to store and process route information more efficiently, reducing programming complexity while maintaining routing accuracy through the fragment's inherent structural properties.
3Ease of operation
If the routing table uses contiguous masks for subnets, then routing simplicity is improved, but adaptability to complex network topologies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments routes into fragments that can represent complex network topologies while maintaining the simplicity of contiguous mask operations. By dividing complex routes into smaller fragments, the system can handle non-contiguous and complex network structures using simple contiguous mask operations on each fragment, thereby maintaining routing simplicity while improving adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment disclosed relates to an apparatus for routing packets towards destination addresses. The apparatus includes at least a routing table and a route fragment cache. Each route in the routing table includes a network address, a mask, and a corresponding forwarding information. Each route fragment in the route fragment cache includes a section of a route from the routing table. The route fragments are such that no route fragment in the route fragment cache intersects any route in the routing table that is more specific than the route from which that fragment was generated.