Combining Host Processing and Network Forwarding

Load Distribution

Platform
Napatech SmartNIC
Content Type
User Guide
Capture Software Version
Link™ Capture Software 12.14

50% load balanced to host, 50% forwarded to port 1

The following NTPL example demonstrate how to forward traffic from port 0 by splitting it between forwarding to port 1 and distributing the rest traffic across 12 streams in the host.
HashMode[Priority = 1; Layer3Type=IP] = Hash2TupleSorted
HashMode[Priority = 0; Layer3Type=IP; Layer4Type=TCP,UDP,SCTP] = Hash5TupleSorted

Action[Tag=balance; Width=24]={Index=0..11; StreamID=0..11},{Index=12..23; DestinationPort=1}
Assign[Action=balance]=Port==0
  • HashMode configuration:
    • The first HashMode sets the hashing method to Hash2TupleSorted (based on source and destination IP addresses) with lower priority.
    • The second HashMode, with higher priority, sets the hashing method to Hash5TupleSorted (based on source/destination IP, source/destination port and protocol) for TCP, UDP, and SCTP packets.
  • Action definition (balance):
    • The first action range (Index=0..11) maps frames to StreamID=0..11, enabling load balancing across 12 streams in the host.
    • The second action range (Index=12..23) directs frames to DestinationPort=1, forwarding them to port 1.
  • Assign: Applies the balance action to received traffic on port 0.
Half of the traffic from port 0 is forwarded to port 1, while the remaining half is distributed across 12 streams in the host, enabling parallel processing or monitoring.

Style Conventions

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Abbreviations

CPU

Central Processing Unit

Dest

DESTination

DN

Document Number

Dst

DESTination

GGSN

Gateway GPRS Support Node

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service

GRE

Generic Routing Encapsulation

GTP

GPRS Tunneling Protocol

Id

IDentifier

Ids

IDentifierS

IP

Internet Protocol

m

Macro

MPLS

MultiProtocol Label Switching

N

Napatech

NT

NapaTech

NTPL

NapaTech Programming Language

Rev.

REVision

RTCP

Real-time Transport Control Protocol

RTP

Real-time Transport Protocol

SCTP

Stream Control Transmission Protocol

SGSN

Serving GPRS Support Node

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol

Src

SouRCe

Tcp, TCP

Transmission Control Protocol

Udp, UDP

User Datagram Protocol

v

Version

VLAN

Virtual Local Area Network

VoIP

Voice Over IP

References