Patent ID: 7688738

Claim:
A router for providing IP forwarding service and at least one additional network service, the router comprising: at least one network interface; a plurality of forwarding elements, each of the plurality of forwarding elements being capable of: receiving network traffic on the at least one network interface of the router; detecting that the network traffic comprises a request for the at least one additional network service; detecting that at least one further card of the router needs to receive the network traffic in order to provide at least a portion of the at least one additional network service; upon detection, sending the request toward the at least one further card; and at least one switching element providing a single point of contact between the plurality of forwarding elements and the further card, each of the at least one switching element being capable of: acting as a proxy of the further card by receiving the request sent from a first one of the plurality of forwarding elements toward the further card, whereby the first one of the plurality of forwarding elements addresses the switching element without directly addressing the further card.