Patent ID: 7227867

Claim:
A network device, comprising: input logic configured to: receive a data packet, the data packet comprising multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) information comprising at least one MPLS tag, store the data packet, and forward a portion of the data packet, the portion including the MPLS information; a first register initialized to store a first value; route lookup logic configured to: receive the portion of the data packet, generate forwarding information identifying a next hop for the data packet based on the MPLS information, determine whether at least one MPLS tag is to be removed from the data packet before the data packet is to be output by the network device, modify the first value stored in the first register for each MPLS tag that is to be removed, and forward the first value; and output processing logic configured to: receive the first value, and bypass part of the data packet for output processing based on the first value.