Vectorized software packet forwarding

An intermediate network node is configured to forward a plurality of packets concurrently, e.g., as a vector, rather than one packet at a time. As such, the node can load a single sequence of forwarding instructions that may be repeatedly executed for packets in the vector. In addition, the intermediate network node adaptively controls the rate at which it processes data packets through a directed forwarding graph. To that end, the intermediate node is configured to dynamically select the number of packets per vector, i.e., vector size, processed at each node of the forwarding graph. Further, the intermediate node also may be configured to dynamically select timing intervals for one or more "node timers" used to control the rate at which packets traverse through the graph. Illustratively, the vector size and node-timer intervals are selected so that the average latency through the forwarding graph is less than a predetermined target latency, e.g., 50 microseconds (μs).