A system for forwarding packets. The system has a first node for creating requests that contain a number of filters for specifying packet forwarding criteria. The first node also specifies values for the filters based on a packet to be forwarded. The system also has a second node coupled to the first node and to a number of ports. The second node has at least one table for specifying which of the ports are to receive the packet based on the filter values. The second node determines which of the ports are to receive the packet based on the table information and the filter values.