Architectures for network processing

Packet processing is the heart of most networking equipment. The network processor (NP) promises the ability to perform packet processing with the flexibility of a microprocessor but with the performance of a dedicated ASIC. In this paper, we survey common architectural features of most commercially available NPs. The NP is a programmable processor optimized to perform packet processing at wire rates in networking equipment. It is a classic tradeoff in the continuum of programmable processors verses dedicated hardware.