1. A method comprising: receiving an incremental update for a Rule Compiled Data Structure (RCDS), the Rule Compiled Data Structure (RCDS) representing a set of rules for packet classification, the Rule Compiled Data Structure (RCDS) being utilized for packet classification by an active search process; and atomically updating the Rule Compiled Data Structure (RCDS) based on the incremental update received, the Rule Compiled Data Structure (RCDS) being atomically updated from the perspective of the active search process utilizing the RCDS.