Patent ID: 8880956

Claim:
A network element comprising: a programmable hardware device configured to: receive a signal from another network element, the network element configured based on a particular technology, and the signal being a sideband signal that is not architected for the particular technology, and the programmable hardware device to handle the signal based on configuration of the programmable hardware device; perform a logical operation on the signal to provide another signal; transmit the another signal to one or more other network elements; and perform, based on the received signal, an action, the action being a particular action based on the configuration of the programmable hardware device, and wherein the action is part of a coordinated action to be performed by a plurality of programmable hardware devices of a plurality of network elements to provide a coordinated result, the coordinated result being a result based on the particular action to be performed by the plurality of programmable hardware devices, the plurality of programmable hardware devices including the programmable hardware device and other programmable hardware devices to perform the particular action and to receive a particular signal, the particular signal comprising the signal, the another signal or a further signal associated with the signal, and the plurality of programmable hardware devices forming a logical network automatically created based on being configured to perform the particular action and receipt of the particular signal.