Patent ID: 7760723

Claim:
A method of exchanging data packets between a first network and a second network comprising: a packet switch receiving a mapping between a data stream originating on the first network and a tunnel tag used to distinguish the data stream from other data streams in the second network; the packet switch directing the data stream from the first network through a switch module incapable of adding the tunnel tag to data packets comprising the data stream, to an entity capable of adding the tunnel tag, the packet switch comprising the switch module and the entity; after the directing of the data stream through the switch module, the packet switch modifying, with the entity, the data stream by adding, based on the mapping, the tunnel tag to each of the data packets; prior to the packet switch directing the data stream from the first network through the switch module, the packet switch marking the data packets of the data stream with a provisional tag; and after the packet switch directing the data stream from the first network through the switch module, the packet switch stripping the provisional tag from the data packets of the data stream.