Match resolution circuit for an associative memory

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention overcomes the deficiencies and limitations of the prior art with a unique system and method for determining a best match from a plurality of matches resulting in response to a search input performed on an associative memory.
The system and method for determining a best match from a plurality of matches comprises a priority field associated with each data item stored in the associative memory.
The priority field corresponds to criteria that is used to order the priority of the data items.
A match resolution module is coupled to receive match signals from an associative memory and the priority fields associated with the matching data entries.
The match resolution structure compares the priority fields of the plurality of matching data items to determine which data item has the highest priority.
The match resolution structure then indicates the data item having the highest priority as the best match of the associative memory for the particular search input.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by considering the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention.
In the course of this description, reference will be frequently made to the attached drawings.