Traditional Protocol Processing Systems, Conventional Computer Hardware Architecture, Basic Packet Processing: Algorithms And Data Structures, Packet Processing Functions, Protocol Software On A Conventional Processor, Hardware Architectures For Protocol Processing, Classification And Forwarding, Switching Fabrics, Network Processor Technology The Complexity Of Network Processor Design, Network Processor Architectures, Issues In Scaling A Network Processor, Examples Of Commercial Network Processors, Design Tradeoffs And Consequences ability, Overview Of The Intel Network Processor, Embedded RISC Processor (XScale Core), Packet Processor Hardware (Microengines).