CAM01-1: A Customized TCAM Architecture for Multi-Match Packet Classification

Most conventional packet classifiers find the highest priority filter that matches the packet. However, new networking applications such as network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) and load balancers require all (or the first few) matching results in packet classification. A TCAM -based architecture optimized for multiple match search is introduced in this paper. We propose a renovated TCAM design that can find all or the first r matches in a packet filter set. Our scheme partitions the filter set and performs the multi-match search on one partition only. A VLSI implementation of our classifier in 0.18 mum technology can achieve speed that is 1-2 order of magnitude higher than software based approaches. Power consumption is reduced by 40% which is far better than the conventional hardware based multi-match designs.