Disclaimer
The Author of this posting offers the information contained within this posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding that there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any purpose. Information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind. Usage of this posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.
Liability Disclaimer
In no event shall Author be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or profit) arising out of the use or inability to use the posting's information even if Author has been advised of the possibility of such damage.
Posting
The "ideal" would be close to zero, i.e. all forwarding is being conducted by dedicated hardware.
You're seldom going to see such an ideal as often the CPU has some management processing to deal with and perhaps some "special" traffic forwarding cases. As a very rough guide, if your overall CPU is 25% or less, probably nothing to worry about; up to 50% probably okay; up to 75% tolerable, but with concern; over 75% probably too much.
