12. The method of claim 4 , further comprising updating the plurality of counters in response to one of an addition of a new rule to the table and a removal of a rule from the table.
12. The method of claim 4 , further comprising updating the plurality of counters in response to one of an addition of a new rule to the table and a removal of a rule from the table. 14. The method of claim 12 , wherein updating the plurality of counters in response to a removal of the rule comprises decrementing each of the plurality of counters associated with the match fields that require extraction based on the removed rule.