Memory Subsystems in High-End Routers

As Internet routers scale to support next-generation networks, their memory subsystems must also scale. Several solutions combine static RAM and dynamic RAM buffering but still have major scaling limitations. Using a parallel architecture and distributed memory-management algorithms with hybrid SRAM/DRAM improves buffering performance. The parallel hybrid SRAM/DRAM memory system is also work conserving, which is particularly important under light traffic conditions.