Patent ID: 8144706

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a data packet; determining a data format of the data packet including determining whether the data packet has a tagged frame format associated with identifying a virtual local area network (VLAN) or VLAN group; generating switching information associated with data packet management based on the data format of the data packet; and modifying the data packet using the generated switching information including extending the modified data packet by a predetermined length to accommodate additional switching information, wherein when it is determined that the data packet has a tagged frame format, the method further comprising: identifying a VLAN tag protocol identifier (TPID) field and a Canonical Format Indicator (CFI) field within the tagged frame format; and modifying the VLAN TPID field and CFI field without modifying a priority field to produce a tag having a first portion encoded with the switching information and a second portion encoded with the additional switching information.