US Patent 10944696 Variable-length packet header vectors

Methods and network interface modules for processing packet headers are provided. The method comprises: receiving a packet comprising a header and a payload; generating, using the header, an initial packet header vector (PHV); providing the initial PHV to a pipeline comprising a plurality of processing stages; and processing the initial PHV in the pipeline, wherein the processing comprises, for a current processing stage in the plurality of processing stages: receiving, by the current processing stage, an input PHV, wherein the input PHV (i) is the initial PHV or a modified version of the initial PHV and (ii) comprises one or more flits, and applying a feature to the input PHV to generate an output PHV, including increasing an initial length of the input PHV if the initial length is not sufficient to apply the feature.