1. A communication device comprising: an input port for receiving a data packet entering the communication device; a look-ahead logic module configured to select an address of a first memory bank of an external memory device, wherein the look-ahead logic module is contained within an internal memory control device located within the communication device; a pointer assignment module, connected to the look-ahead module, is configured to include an independent link list assigned exclusively to the first memory bank and to assign a pointer to the data packet based upon the first memory bank as determined by the look-ahead logic; the internal memory control device configured to transfer the data packet to the external memory device; and the pointer assignment module configured to return the pointer to the independent link list and update a free address pool when the pointer has been released after the data packet has been transferred from the external memory device.