Efficient 2D Multibit Tries for Packet Classification

Abstract

We develop fast algorithms to construct space-optimal constrained 2D multibit tries for Internet packet classifier applications. Experimental evidence suggests that space-optimal 2D multibit tries and their extensions using a bucket scheme are superior to existing 2D and multidimensional packet classification schemes in terms of both memory requirement and number of memory accesses requirement. We propose a heuristic for 2D multibit tries with switch pointers, which may be used for 2D packet classification.