| CPC H04L 43/10 (2013.01) [H04L 43/0876 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A method within a network comprising a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:
receiving, at a first node of the plurality of nodes from a first service local area network (LAN), a first packet, wherein the first node maintains a first local operating color field and a first local admin color field, and wherein the first packet comprises a first packet color field and a first admin color field;
marking, by the first node, the first packet color field with a first color from the first local operating color field;
forwarding, by the first node to a second node of the plurality of nodes, the first packet, wherein the second node maintains a second local operating color field and a second local admin color field;
changing, by the second node, the second local admin color field to a second color;
marking, by the second node, the first admin color field with the second color;
forwarding, by the second node to a third node of the plurality of nodes, the first packet;
based at least in part on the first admin color field, changing, by the third node, a third local admin color field maintained at the third node to the second color;
receiving, at the third node from a second service LAN, a second packet comprising a second packet color field and a second admin color field;
based at least in part on receiving the second packet, changing, by the third node, a third local operating color field maintained at the third node to the second color;
marking, by the third node, the second packet color field with the second color;
forwarding, by the third node to the second node, the second packet;
marking, by the second node, the second admin color field with the second color;
forwarding, by the second node to the first node, the second packet; and
changing, by the first node, the first admin color field to the second color.
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