workgroup tries to separate router forwarding from protocols
and network services in a network element such as a router.
defines an architectural framework and associated protocols to standardize information exchange between the control plane and the forwarding plane in a ForCES network element (ForCES NE). The ForCES protocol works in a master-slave mode in which forwarding elements (FEs) are slaves and control elements (CEs) are masters. The protocol includes commands for transport of Logical Functional Block (LFB) configuration information, association setup, status, event notifications, etc.