Method and apparatus for distributing network traffic processing on a multiprocessor computer
US6389468B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 14, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 1, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/1001
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method are provided for distributing or sharing the processing of network traffic (e.g., through a protocol stack on a host computer system) received at a multiprocessor computer system. A packet formatted according to one or more communication protocols is received from a network entity at a network interface circuit of a multiprocessor computer. A header portion of the packet is parsed to retrieve information stored in one or more protocol headers, such as source and destination identifiers or a virtual communication connection identifier. In one embodiment, a source identifier and a destination identifier are combined to form a flow key that is subjected to a hash function. The modulus of the result of the hash function over the number of processors in the multiprocessor computer is then calculated. In another embodiment a modulus operation is performed on the packet's virtual communication connection identifier. The result of the modulus operation identifies a processor to which the packet is submitted for processing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.