MVTX2601
Data Sheet
15
Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.
When all the information has been collected from external SRAM, the search engine has to compare the MAC
address on the current entry with the MAC address for which it is searching. If it is not a match, the process is
repeated on the internal MCT Table. All MCT entries other than the first of each linked list are maintained internal to
the chip. If the desired MAC address is still not found, then the result is either learning (source MAC address
unknown) or flooding (destination MAC address unknown).
In addition, port based VLAN information is used to select the correct set of destination ports for the frame (for
multicast) or to verify that the frame’s destination port is associated with the VLAN (for unicast).
If the destination MAC address belongs to a port trunk, then the trunk number is retrieved instead of the port
number. But on which port of the trunk will the frame be transmitted This is easily computed using a hash of the
source and destination MAC addresses.
As stated earlier, when all the information is compiled the switch response is generated. The search engine also
interacts with the CPU with regard to learning and aging.
5.3 Search, Learning and Aging
5.3.1 MAC Search
The search block performs source MAC address and destination MAC address searching. As we indicated earlier,
if a match is not found, then the next entry in the linked list must be examined and so on until a match is found or
the end of the list is reached.
The port based VLAN bitmap is used to determine whether the frame should be forwarded to the outgoing port.
When the egress port is not included in the ingress port VLAN bitmap, the packet is discarded.
The MAC search block is also responsible for updating the source MAC address timestamp and the VLAN port
association timestamp, used for aging.
5.3.2 Learning
The learning module learns new MAC addresses and performs port change operations on the MCT database. The
goal of learning is to update this database as the networking environment changes over time. Learning and port
change will be performed based on memory slot availability only.
5.3.3 Aging
Aging time is controlled by register 400h and 401h.
The aging module scans and ages MCT entries based on a programmable “age out” time interval. As we indicated
earlier, the search module updates the source MAC address timestamps for each frame it processes. When an
entry is ready to be aged, the entry is removed from the table.
5.4 Quality of Service
Quality of Service (QoS) refers to the ability of a network to provide better service to selected network traffic over
various technologies. Primary goals of QoS include dedicated bandwidth, controlled jitter and latency (required by
some real-time and interactive traffic) and improved loss characteristics.
Traditional Ethernet networks have had no prioritization of traffic. Without a protocol to prioritize or differentiate
traffic, a service level known as “best effort” attempts to get all the packets to their intended destinations with
minimum delay; however, there are no guarantees. In a congested network or when a low-performance
switch/router is overloaded, “best effort” becomes unsuitable for delay-sensitive traffic and mission-critical data
transmission.