IP routers: new tool for gigabit networking

IP routing continues to receive much attention from the research and vendor communities. Its primary function-forwarding packets between networks-must keep pace with the demands of the exponentially growing end user population. It must accommodate attachment of gigabit data link technologies such as ATM, packet Sonet, Gigabit Ethernet, and dense wave division multiplexing, and fill those links at full capacity. As network providers introduce new services supporting multicast, QoS, voice, and security, IP routing-and more specifically the IP forwarding function-will be called upon to analyze additional packet information at gigabit rates to determine how each packet should be handled. Performing these new functions while maintaining parity with the advances in available bandwidth will present an interesting challenge for the forwarding capabilities of IP routers. Indeed, for the Internet to scale, we must scale all dimensions of the IP routing process