An apparatus is equipped with a content addressable memory (CAM) to store
one or more key entries corresponding to a data class represented by the
CAM. Each of the one or more key entries is associated with a key tag
corresponding to one of one or more subclasses of the data class. The
apparatus is further equipped with logic coupled to the CAM to extract a
data key from a data stream, to compare all or part of the data key with
the one or more key entries to determine if the data key is a member of
the data class, and to classify the data key as belonging to one of the
one or more subclasses of the data class if the data key is determined to
be a member of data class.
