How does TCAM differ from CAM for forwarding lookups?
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Correct answer: TCAM matches using masks (for longest-prefix/multi-field lookups), while CAM performs exact-match lookups..
Why this is the answer
TCAM (Ternary Content Addressable Memory) is designed for complex lookups, supporting three states per bit (0, 1, or X for "don't care"). This "don't care" state allows TCAM to perform longest-prefix matching for routing tables, access control list (ACL) lookups (which involve multiple fields like source IP, destination IP, port numbers), and Quality of Service (QoS) classifications. CAM (Content Addressable Memory), in contrast, only supports two states (0 or 1) and performs exact-match lookups, making it suitable for MAC address tables where a precise match is needed. The other options are incorrect: TCAM does not match on binary values exclusively (it uses ternary), neither TCAM nor CAM rely on a hardware CPU for lookups (they are specialized memory types), and TCAM is generally more expensive than CAM due to its increased complexity.
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