US Patent 11184282 Packet forwarding in a network device

An example method of packet forwarding for a packet set in a network device includes: selecting a first bit pattern of multiple adjacent bits from a bit string that represents an input packet set; selecting a second bit pattern of multiple adjacent bits from a first node of a data structure that implements a prefix-compressed decision diagram representing a first class of packets; performing a comparison of the first bit pattern to the second bit pattern; generating an output packet set, which is a subset of the input packet set, in response to the first bit pattern matching the second bit pattern; and applying a network forwarding action to the output packet set, the network forwarding action associated with the prefix-compressed decision diagram and dictating packet forwarding behavior of the network device with respect to the output packet set.