This paper presents the dynamic hardware plugins (DHP) architecture for implementing multiple networking applications in hardware at programmable routers. By enabling multiple applications to be dynamically loaded into a single hardware device, the DHP architecture provides a scalable mechanism for implementing high-performance programmable routers. The DHP architecture is presented within the context of a programmable router architecture which processes flows in both software and hardware.

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... ementation options are described as well as the prototype testbed at Washington University in Saint Louis which utilizes the partial reconfiguration capability of modern field programmable gate arrays. Ó 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.