A hardware-based longest prefix matching scheme for TCAMs

Ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) is a popular device for hardware based lookup table solutions due to its high speed. However TCAM devices suffer from slow updates, high power consumption and low density. In this paper, we present a novel hardware-based longest prefix matching (HLPM) technique for pipelined TCAMs to increase TCAM efficiency. Our HLPM provides very simple and fast table updates, with no TCAM management requirements, as well as potentially decreasing the power consumption and area requirements for a TCAM. Up to 30% power savings for matching entries, compared to previously designed TCAMs, is reported.