Distributing information across equal-cost paths in a network

1. A method of distributing data across a network, the method comprising:

providing a distribution device configured to distribute packets of data across a set of equal-cost paths in the network;

determining if a set of equal-cost paths exist; and

distributing the packets across the paths based on at least one attribute of each of the packets,

wherein the distributing comprises using a pointer portion from a first set of instructions of a first compilation set of instructions to select a second set of instructions from a second compilation set of instructions, and

wherein the first set of instructions includes a first value that specifies how much weight is to be given to each equal-cost path in the set of equal-cost paths.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributing comprises distributing the packets based on source addresses.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributing comprises distributing the packets based on next-hop addresses.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributing comprises performing a hashing function on the attribute.

5. A method of distributing data across a network, the method comprising:

providing a distribution device configured to distribute a set of packets of data across a set of equal-cost paths in the network; and

distributing each packet in the set of packets across the set of equal-cost paths according to a weighted distribution so that at least one of said packets is given greater weight to be distributed across at least one of said equal-cost paths than at least one other of said equal-cost paths, said packet weight corresponding to a number of entries stored in a memory, wherein the distributing comprises

obtaining a match between a longest prefix in a first packet and a portion of a first set of instructions in a first compilation of sets of instructions, and

using a pointer portion from the first set of instructions to select a second set of instructions from a second compilation of sets of instructions, wherein the first set of instructions includes a first value that specifies how much weight is to be given to each equal-cost path in the set of equal-cost paths.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the distributing further comprises using a packet attribute from each packet to perform the weighted distribution.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the distributing comprises performing a hashing function on the packet attribute.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the distributing comprises:

performing a hashing function on an attribute of the first packet to obtain a hashed result;

dividing the hashed result by the first value, thereby obtaining a remainder value, and using the remainder value to obtain an offset;

adding the offset to the first pointer to select the second set of instructions,

wherein the second set of instructions includes a pointer to a third set of instructions in a third compilation of sets of instructions.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the distributing further comprises forwarding the first packet to a port designated in the third set of instructions.

10. The method of claim 5 , further comprising updating a compilation of sets of instructions used to perform the weighted distribution, wherein the compilation is updated based on a best-fit algorithm.

11. A distribution device, the device comprising:

a set of ports; and

a first distribution unit, including a device logic, wherein the first distribution unit is configured to use the device logic to distribute a packet of data entering the device through a first port among the set of ports to a second port among the set of ports, the device logic comprising:

a first lookup unit including an acknowledgement unit for acknowledging whether multiple equal-cost paths exist, a first referencing unit for referencing a second lookup unit when multiple equal-cost paths do exist, and a second referencing unit for referencing a third lookup unit otherwise,

the second lookup unit including a second distribution unit for distributing the packet across the set of ports and a third referencing unit for referencing the third lookup unit, and

the third lookup unit including a selection unit for selecting the second port.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein, in the second lookup unit, multiple entries, each referencing a common set of instructions in the third lookup unit, are included.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein, in the second lookup unit, a different number of entries resulting in the packet being distributed to the first path than to a second path are included.