University of Patras University of Patras University of Patras Forwarding and Control Element Separation (ForCES) defines an architectural framework and associated protocols to standardize information exchange between the control plane and the forwarding plane in a ForCES Network Element (ForCES NE). RFC5812 has defined the ForCES Model provides a formal way to represent the capabilities, state, and configuration of forwarding elements within the context of the ForCES protocol, so that control elements (CEs) can control the FEs accordingly. More specifically, the model describes the logical functions that are present in an FE, what capabilities these functions support, and how these functions are or can be interconnected. The ForCES model provides the necessary abstractions to natively support virtualization of the forwarding plane. This documents describes a formal approach to model the necessary parameters required for defining and managing virtual network forwarding planes to create virtual network elements.