A fast packet classification by using enhanced tuple pruning

Abstract

In the packet classification, the route and resources allocated to a packet are determined by the destination address as well as other header fields of the packet such as source/destination address, TCP and UDP port numbers. It has been demonstrated that performing packet classification on a potentially large number of fields is difficult and has poor worst-case performance. In this work, we proposed an enhanced tuple pruning search algorithm called "Tuple Pruning +" that provides fast two-dimension packet classification. With reasonable extra filters added for Information Marker, only one hash access to the tuples is required. Through experiments, about 8 MB memory is required for 100K-filter database and 20 million packet per second (MPPS) is achievable. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is suitable for high-speed packet classification.