30 IBM 9077 SP Switch Router: Get Connected to the SP Switch
10.The header is examined by the CPU, which uses the information to build a
new header that will deliver the data across the media interface.
11.The DMA engine transfers the packet to the media interface.
12.The packet is transferred across the media.
2.3.2.2 Routing Packet Processing
The processing of packets with routing information is a little bit different from
the data packet processing procedure as you can see in Figure 14.
Figure 14. Routing Packet Processing
These are the steps for processing routing packets:
1. A routing packet is received by the media card.
2. The packet is transferred to the receive buffer by the DMA engine.
3. The CPU examines the header and gives the destination address to the
route lookup hardware.
4. The QBRT finds the next hop in the route table.
5. A special header is added to the packet by the CPU. This header contains
information for the downstream card. The result of the hardware lookup
determines whether the packet should be forwarded to the Router
Manager.
Rx Buffer
Tx Buffer
CPU
QBRT
DMA
DMA
Internal
Interface
External
Interface
Rx Buffer
Tx Buffer
CPU
QBRT
DMA
DMA
Internal
Interface
External
Interface
Switch
Control Board
Dynamic
Route
Manager