Patent ID: 9602352
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A network element for a software-defined network, the network element comprising: functional entities that include connections that transfer data between the functional entities regardless of a topology of the software-defined network, two or more of the functional entities being configurable with configuration data received from a controller of the software-defined network, wherein the network element comprises a processing system that controls the network element to transmit, to the controller of the software-defined network, two or more entity-specific capability descriptors related to the two or more functional entities configurable with the configuration data, wherein each one of the entity-specific capability descriptors expresses operations operable to be carried out by a functional entity related thereto, and wherein at least one of the entity-specific capability descriptors expresses limitations relating to structures and interconnections of one or more look-up tables defining actions implementable by a functional entity related to the at least one entity-specific capability descriptor.