Abstract
This paper discusses the distributed network element concept as it pertains to the communication of security policies. In the context of this paper, a security policy specifies access control rules on network traffic. We introduce the problem and give a software architecture to solve it. The solution has four components that form the distributed network element: the controler, adaptor, driver and network element. We also discuss the application of the solution to two cases: one in which the network element is an ATM switch and the other in which the network element is an IP switch.
