Patent ID: 7428219

Claim:
A method comprising: exchanging information between a control element (CE) and one or more forwarding element (FEs), the exchanging comprising: executing a binding phase between the CE and a first one of FEs to provide a data channel and a control channel separate from the data channel, the data channel configured to transport packets including at least one of redirected packets from the first one of the FEs to the CE and packets to be forwarded from the CE to a second one of the FEs, the control channel configured to transport control and configuration messages; executing a capability discovery phase between the CE and the first one of the FEs, the capability discovery phase comprising: transmitting a capability request from the CE to the first one of the FEs; transmitting a topology request from the CE to the first one of the FEs; and executing a configuration operation phase between the CE and the first one of the FEs, wherein executing a binding phase further comprises: transmitting a bind request, from the first one of the FEs to the CE, to establish the data channel and the control channel; and transmitting a bind response, from the CE to the first one of the FEs after the first one of the FEs has received the bind request, the bind response indicating whether the data channel and the control channel are established.