Implementation of control plane protocols and networking stacks in a distributed network device

摘要

A network device, such as a router or switch, uses multiple forwarding and control processors that operate different protocols or operating systems to route a packet in a computer network. A support stack module determines which processor a packet is routed to and converts the packet format, if necessary, for compatibility with the processor. When a packet is directed to a control processor, its associated support stack module simulates the forwarding plane interfaces. After processing the packet is routed onto the network.