Network Processors for a 1-MHz trigger-DAQ system

Network processors (NP), originally developed for applications in high-end network routers, have a great potential as building blocks for a high-speed networked data acquisition (DAQ)-Trigger system. After an introduction to NP, we will present several applications which illustrate their power in coping with high event rates and aggregate traffic of above 10 GB/s. All these applications can be implemented in a single, versatile, generic NP-based module, where the specific functionality is provided by the software. We will discuss the impact of protocol overheads on link utilization, and demonstrate a NP-based way of enhancing the portion of the bandwidth occupied by user data. One other application deals with sorting of trigger decision frames, and finally, we will look into the advantages of implementing a large switching network with the NP-based module.