Network services across multiple network devices

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• receiving, at a non-owner network device of a set of network devices implementing a network service, a first network data unit of a network flow;
• recognizing, by the non-owner network device, an identifying characteristic of the first network data unit, wherein the identifying characteristic is related to the network service;
• transmitting, based on the recognition of the identifying characteristic and using a network tunnel, the first network data unit to a network service management owner of the set of network devices;
• identifying, by the network service management owner, the first network data unit as corresponding to the network service;
• and
• processing, by the network service management owner, the first network data unit to perform the network service.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing programming for execution by one or more processors, the programming comprising instructions to:

• receive, at a non-owner network device of a set of network devices implementing a network service, a first network data unit of a network flow;
• recognize, by the non-owner network device, an identifying characteristic of the first network data unit, wherein the identifying characteristic is related to the network service;
• transmit, based on the recognition of the identifying characteristic and using a network tunnel, the first network data unit to a network service management owner of the set of network devices;
• identify, by the network service management owner, the first network data unit as corresponding to the network service;
• and
• process, by the network service management owner, the first network data unit to perform the network service.