Apparatus and method for controlling high speed IP forwarding engine based upon high speed IP lookup chip

摘要

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for controlling a high-speed IP forwarding engine on the basis of a high-speed lookup device are provided to overcome deterioration in performance, due to lookup process, by embodying a hardware lookup device driver to configure a lookup table as preparation for the driving of a high-speed IP lookup device and replacing an existing software-based lookup module. CONSTITUTION: A forwarding control system based on a high-speed IP lookup device consists of a lookup device(36), a control data structure memory(32), a lookup device and memory initialization control part(33), a lookup table configuration part(34), and a lookup device and memory control part(35). The lookup device(36) compares a lookup table stored in an internal lookup memory(37) with the address information of an inputted IP packet and finds out forwarding information stored in an external forwarding memory(38). The control data structure memory(32) stores the configuration information of a structure that manages the control data of the lookup device(36), the control data of the lookup memory(37), and the control data of the forwarding memory(38) in common. The lookup device and memory initialization control part(33) issues a control command to initialize the lookup device(36), the lookup memory(37), and the control data structure memory(32) in case that an initialization command is generated from an upper application program module(31). In case that a lookup entry addition/deletion command is generated from the upper application program module(31), the lookup table configuration part(34) searches the lookup table to confirm whether an addition or deletion lookup entry exists, adds or deletes the addition or deletion lookup entry according to a search result, and issues a control command to update the contents of the control data structure memory(32). The lookup device and memory control part(35) receives the issued control commands and inputs control values, related to the issued control commands, to the lookup device(36), the lookup memory(37), and the forwarding memory(38).