US Patent 11095555 Flexible label value encoding in label switched packet networks

Various example embodiments for supporting packet forwarding in communication networks are described. Various example embodiments for supporting packet forwarding in communication networks may be configured to support packet forwarding in label switched packet networks. Various example embodiments for supporting packet forwarding in label switched packet networks may utilize a variable-sized label value field to encode label values within a header of a label switched packet. Various example embodiments for supporting packet forwarding in label switched packet networks may utilize a variable-sized label value field to encode label values within a label stack in a header of a label switched packet. Various example embodiments for supporting packet forwarding in label switched packet networks may encode a label value within a label stack in a header of a label switched packet using a variable-sized label value field having a size that is based on the label value.