Patent ID: 7792113

Claim:
A method comprising: determining, using a processor of a network device, if a packet is subject to a policy, wherein said packet is identified by analyzing, using said processor, said packet using a filtering rule, and said analyzing comprises determining, using said processor, whether a destination address of said packet is intended for forwarding across a boundary of a virtual local area network by looking up said destination address of said packet in a forwarding table, and determining, using said processor, whether said packet matches an entry in an access control list table associated with said virtual local area network using said destination address; and forwarding said packet, wherein said forwarding said packet comprises if said packet is subject to said policy, forwarding said packet to a policy-based forwarding engine of said network device, and performing said forwarding said packet based on said policy using said policy-based forwarding engine, wherein said performing said forwarding comprises rewriting said destination address based on an adjacency table, and if said packet is not subject to said policy, determining if said packet is subject to a forwarding rule, and if said packet is subject to said forwarding rule, forwarding said packet to a forwarding engine of said network device, and performing said forwarding based on said forwarding rule using said forwarding engine.