MUAC Routing CoProcessor (RCP) Family
General Description
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The MUAC RCP family consists of 4K and 8K x 64-bit
Routing CoProcessors (RCPs) with a 32-bit wide data
interface and a 32-bit ternary compare instruction. The
device is designed for use in layer 3 switches, routers, and
layer 2 switches to provide very high throughput address
translation using tables held in external RAM. The MUAC
RCP has a fully deterministic search time, independent of
the size of the list and the position of the data in the list.
This unique feature guarantees that the wire speed address
recognition does not impact the latency or induce some
jitter on the latency of the global system. Address fields
from the packet header are compared against a list of
entries stored in the array. As a result of the comparison,
the MUAC RCP generates an index that is used to access
an external RAM where port mapping data and other
associated information is stored.
A set of control states provides a powerful and flexible
control interface to the MUAC RCP. This control structure
allows memory read and write, register read and write,
data move, comparison, validity control, addressing
control, and initialization operations.
The MUAC RCP architecture uses direct hardware control
of the device and an independent bus for returning match
results. Software control is also supported for systems
where maximum performance is not needed.
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
The MUAC RCP is designed to act as an address
translator for lookup tables in layer 3 switches, routers,
and layer 2 switches. Refer to Figure 2 for a simplified
block diagram of a switch. During normal operation, the
controller extracts the address information from an
arriving packet to form the comparand, which is then
compared against the contents of the MUAC RCP. The
MUAC RCP generates an index that is used to access the
data in an external RAM, which holds the destination port
for accessing the network. The controller reads the data
from the RAM and forwards the packet.
A unique feature of the MUAC RCP is its ternary
comparison that processes IPv4 CIDR addresses in a
single cycle. The bits of each MUAC RCP word are
paired, such that each pair can contain two binary values
(0,1) or one ternary (0,1,X= “Don’t Care”) value. A
ternary value uses two bits, pairing bit n from the first 32
bits (31-0) with bit n+32. When storing a ternary 0 or 1,
the value to be stored is written into bit n (0<=n<=31), and
the complement of the value is written to bit n+32. Thus, a
ternary 0 written to ternary pair 7 would consist of a 0
stored in bit 7 and a 1 stored in bit 39. When storing a
ternary X, 0 is written to both bits in the pair.
Using bit pairs that are 32 bits apart simplifies the
computation of the pair by a processor. Assume that the
ternary value we wish to store is contained in two 32-bit
processor words. Word A contains the value to be stored
and word M contains a mask value, with a 0 in each
position at which an X is to be stored. The value to be
written to bits 31-0 of the MUAC RCP is (A&M) and the
value to be written to bits 63-32 of the MUAC RCP is
(~A&M).
A special instruction, CMPT DQ, performs the ternary
comparison processing for IPv4 CIDR addresses. The data
on the DQ bus are used directly as both the comparand and
compare mask bits 31–0, and the one’s complement of the
2
DQ bus data are used as both the comparand and compare
mask bits 63–32. As a result, this instruction matches a
DQ bit of 0 with bit pairs storing both 0 and X, and a DQ
bit of 1 matches bit pairs storing both 1 and X.
IPv4 CIDR addresses are prioritized by placing their
ternary-encoded values into the MUAC RCP memory
such that entries with longer netmasks (longer matches)
have higher priority (lower indices). Thus, when the
MUAC RCP performs a ternary comparison, it will return
the index of the longest matching entry. Typically, the
system is initialized by a processor that writes routing
table information into the MUAC RCP. The index at
which a write takes place is driven onto the PA:AA bus, so
that output port data can be written simultaneously into the
external RAM at the correct index.
The validity of a location in the Address Database is
determined by an extra bit called the Validity bit. This bit is
set and reset either with an index or an associative match.
Therefore, when a new entry is written to the database, its
Validity bit is set valid.
When a database location is deleted, the Validity bit for that
entry is reset, and the index of the location is driven onto
the Active Address bus. This simple mechanism allows
easy maintenance of the tables in both the database and the
external RAM.
The MUAC RCP supports simple daisy chained vertical
cascading that serves to prioritize multiple devices and
provides system-level match and full indication. If the
slight timing overhead associated with the daisy chain is
unacceptable, the MUAC RCP is designed to facilitate
external prioritization across multiple devices.
For layer 2 applications, the MAC addresses are processed
in a binary mode, and the MUAC RCP looks for an exact
match. An MUAC RCP can be used to process both MAC
addresses and IPv4 CIDR in the same device.
Rev. 4a
MUSIC [ MUSIC SEMICONDUCTORS ]
