Extendible to arbitrary other types of interfaces (virtual link, VPN interface, …)
Interface ID/tag system wide unique identifier in control/data plane.
Ingress interface tag stored in metadata
Handles ingress de-capsulation and de-multiplexing
Owns table 0 (and possibly additional tables needed for demultiplexing of interfaces)
Application bind to interfaces through API and register application-specific instructions/actions to be added to the interfaces ingress flow entry (e.g. write metadata, goto table)
Each bound service is assigned to a separate interface handle, no risk of interference on ingress traffic
South bound protocol agnostic
Ability to plug in different south bound renderers
Provides tunnel monitoring services
Handles egress encapsulation and output, service processing priority