http://webserv.educom.edu/edupage/98/edupage-0205.html
FASTER ROUTING ON THE WAY
With Internet destination addresses set to increase in size from 32 bits to
128 bits, computer scientists at Washington University have patented a
mathematical procedure for speeding up router performance -- a process they
liken to the game "20 Questions." The router first divides the address in
half and compares one half of it to a database. The router then either keeps
it or discards it in favor of the other half, and then repeats the process.
Using the procedure, a router should be able to find the needed information
in no more than seven steps. A number of large router makers are negotiating
licensing deals with Washington U. (Business Week 9 Feb 98)