Patent ID: 7787462

Claim:
An apparatus for receiving, processing and forwarding packets, the apparatus comprising: a packet switching device including: a plurality of interfaces for receiving packets into the packet switching device and for transmitting packets from the packet switching device; a switching platform configured for communicating packets between the plurality of interfaces; and one or more feature application mechanisms configured to apply enabled features of a plurality of features to packets, with said application of enabled features being applied to said packets while said packets reside within the packet switching device; wherein the order in which said enabled features are applied to a particular packet is determined by a currently selected feature order template of a plurality of selectable predetermined feature order templates, each of the plurality of selectable predetermined feature order templates specifying a different application order for said features; wherein each of the plurality of selectable predetermined feature order templates is provided by a manufacturer of the apparatus; and wherein the plurality of selectable predetermined feature order templates constrain the packet switching device to only apply said enabled features in an order defined by the plurality of selectable predetermined feature order templates, preventing the packet switching device from applying said enabled features in at least one other order otherwise supported by the packet switching device.