1. A method for packet processing comprising, a) obtaining first information regarding a packet; b) using the first information as an index into a parser memory; c) retrieving from the parser memory an entry comprising a location in the packet of one or more protocol bits specifying a protocol associated with the packet; d) obtaining a match engine index; and, e) using the protocol bits and the match engine index as a key to retrieve a match engine entry from a match engine memory, the match engine entry comprising an action to take on the packet.