Method and Apparatus for Mirroring Frames to a Remote Diagnostic System

Apparatuses and methods to mirror frames received at an input port or provided by an output port to a port not connected to the device performing the mirroring operation. A frame being sent to a diagnostic system has a mirror header added to allow the frame to be routed through any intervening switches in the same fabric. The final switch or the diagnostic system removes the mirror header. If the diagnostic system is attached in a different fabric, encapsulation and inter-fabric routing headers are added as needed to the frame containing the mirror header. This allows the frame to traverse multiple fabrics to reach the diagnostic system. The encapsulation and inter-fabric routing headers are removed as done normally. This allows a diagnostic system to be connected to any switch in the network, either in the same or a different fabric.