Proprietary and Confidential to PMC-Sierra, Inc and for its Customers
’
Internal Use
Document ID: PMC-2010146, Issue 4
64
PM2329 ClassiPI Network Classification Processor Datasheet
Key Extraction
Packet transfer for any packet completes when the PM2329 receives an EOP indication for that packet.
Packets are then taken for further processing in the order in which the packet transfers complete. Since the
FEE
’
s task is to glean one or more "keys" from the packet which will be compared against a series of rules,
it extracts the relevant header or data key from the packet, constructs the key(s), and transfers the key(s) to
the PSE for processing.
A key can be one of three main types:
PI Field Attribute Key:
The Attribute segment of the packet
’
s PI field (or the Attribute segment of the
pre-programmed PI register) becomes the key to be compared, according to the sequence of rules
identified for the OC
.
Header Key:
The IP, TCP and UDP information from within the packet
’
s header are concatenated to
construct a 108-bit Packet Header key, which is compared (with appropriate masking if desired) in the
Rules Processing of the OC. The FEE parses and extracts header fields from Ethernet at Layer 2, IP at
layer 3, and TCP/UDP at layer 4. Within Ethernet, it can decode Ethernet II, Ethernet 802.3 and
Ethernet 802.1p/q.
Packet Data Key:
The FEE also has the capability of extracting a given length of packet data starting
at a given byte offset, and constructing short or long keys. This feature can be used for searching for a
set of specific strings within a packet, whereby the FEE repeatedly extracts data using an offset shifted
by one additional byte for each iteration, in the forward or reverse direction, thereby allowing pattern
searches in either direction. A Packet Data field can include payload bytes, header bytes, or both.
The FEE can extract multiple fields for any packet, and submit them all to the PSE for processing. There
can be one unique PI Field Attribute key, one unique 108-bit header key, and many unique Packet Data
keys of varying lengths and beginning at varying offsets within the header/payload parts of the packet.
3.2.2 Supported Packet Formats
The FEE performs extraction of fields and key construction as data is being received into its buffers. The
FEE uses the information in the PI field (or the PI register if no PI field exists in the packet) to direct its
extract efforts. Figure 19 and Figure 20 show the packet formats recognized by the PM2329.