diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/DefaultFlowRule.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/DefaultFlowRule.java
index 0a8ecfb..a31394a 100644
--- a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/DefaultFlowRule.java
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/DefaultFlowRule.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import static com.google.common.base.MoreObjects.toStringHelper;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkArgument;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
+import static org.onosproject.net.flow.TableId.Type.INDEX;
 
 /**
  * Default flow rule.
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@
     private final FlowRemoveReason reason;
     private final GroupId groupId;
 
-    private final Integer tableId;
+    private final TableId tableId;
     private final FlowRuleExtPayLoad payLoad;
 
     /**
@@ -71,14 +72,14 @@
         this.reason = rule.reason();
         this.permanent = rule.isPermanent();
         this.created = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        this.tableId = rule.tableId();
+        this.tableId = rule.table();
         this.payLoad = rule.payLoad();
     }
 
     private DefaultFlowRule(DeviceId deviceId, TrafficSelector selector,
                             TrafficTreatment treatment, Integer priority,
                             FlowId flowId, Boolean permanent, Integer timeout, Integer hardTimeout,
-                            FlowRemoveReason reason, Integer tableId) {
+                            FlowRemoveReason reason, TableId tableId) {
 
         this.deviceId = deviceId;
         this.selector = selector;
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@
         this.reason = FlowRemoveReason.NO_REASON;
         this.hardTimeout = hardTimeout;
         this.permanent = permanent;
-        this.tableId = 0;
+        this.tableId = DEFAULT_TABLE;
         this.created = System.currentTimeMillis();
         this.payLoad = payLoad;
 
@@ -234,7 +235,7 @@
         this.hardTimeout = hardTimeout;
         this.permanent = permanent;
         this.created = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        this.tableId = 0;
+        this.tableId = DEFAULT_TABLE;
         this.payLoad = payLoad;
 
         /*
@@ -364,6 +365,12 @@
 
     @Override
     public int tableId() {
+        // Workaround until we remove this method. Deprecated in Loon.
+        return tableId.type() == INDEX ? ((IndexTableId) tableId).id() : tableId.hashCode();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public TableId table() {
         return tableId;
     }
 
@@ -394,7 +401,7 @@
         private ApplicationId appId;
         private Integer priority;
         private DeviceId deviceId;
-        private Integer tableId = 0;
+        private TableId tableId = DEFAULT_TABLE;
         private TrafficSelector selector = DefaultTrafficSelector.builder().build();
         private TrafficTreatment treatment = DefaultTrafficTreatment.builder().build();
         private Integer timeout;
@@ -428,6 +435,12 @@
 
         @Override
         public FlowRule.Builder forTable(int tableId) {
+            this.tableId = IndexTableId.of(tableId);
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public FlowRule.Builder forTable(TableId tableId) {
             this.tableId = tableId;
             return this;
         }
@@ -475,6 +488,7 @@
         @Override
         public FlowRule build() {
             FlowId localFlowId;
+            checkNotNull(tableId, "Table id cannot be null");
             checkArgument((flowId != null) ^ (appId != null), "Either an application" +
                     " id or a cookie must be supplied");
             checkNotNull(selector, "Traffic selector cannot be null");
@@ -514,7 +528,7 @@
                     .putUnencodedChars(deviceId.toString())
                     .putObject(selector, selectorFunnel)
                     .putInt(priority)
-                    .putInt(tableId)
+                    .putUnencodedChars(tableId.toString())
                     .hash();
 
             return hashCode.asInt();
diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowRule.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowRule.java
index c758c48..7e1f58c 100644
--- a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowRule.java
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowRule.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
  */
 public interface FlowRule {
 
+    IndexTableId DEFAULT_TABLE = IndexTableId.of(0);
     int MAX_TIMEOUT = 60;
     int MIN_PRIORITY = 0;
     int MAX_PRIORITY = 65535;
@@ -153,10 +154,19 @@
      * Returns the table id for this rule.
      *
      * @return an integer.
+     * @deprecated in Loon release (version 1.11.0). Use {@link #table()} instead.
      */
+    @Deprecated
     int tableId();
 
     /**
+     * Returns the table identifier for this rule.
+     *
+     * @return a table identifier.
+     */
+    TableId table();
+
+    /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      *
      * Equality for flow rules only considers 'match equality'. This means that
@@ -227,7 +237,12 @@
         Builder forDevice(DeviceId deviceId);
 
         /**
-         * Sets the table id for this flow rule. Default value is 0.
+         * Sets the table id for this flow rule, when the identifier is of type {@link TableId.Type#INDEX}. Default
+         * value is 0.
+         * <p>
+         * <em>Important:</em> This method is left here for backward compatibility with applications that specifies
+         * table identifiers using integers, e.g. as in OpenFlow. Currently there is no plan to deprecate this method,
+         * however, new applications should favor using {@link #forTable(TableId)}.
          *
          * @param tableId an integer
          * @return this
@@ -235,6 +250,15 @@
         Builder forTable(int tableId);
 
         /**
+         * Sets the table identifier for this flow rule.
+         * Default identifier is of type {@link TableId.Type#INDEX} and value 0.
+         *
+         * @param tableId table identifier
+         * @return this
+         */
+        Builder forTable(TableId tableId);
+
+        /**
          * Sets the selector (or match field) for this flow rule.
          *
          * @param selector a traffic selector
diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/IndexTableId.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/IndexTableId.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04bc560
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/IndexTableId.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017-present Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.net.flow;
+
+import org.onlab.util.Identifier;
+
+/**
+ * Table identifier representing the position of the table in the pipeline.
+ */
+public final class IndexTableId extends Identifier<Integer> implements TableId {
+
+    private IndexTableId(int index) {
+        super(index);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Type type() {
+        return Type.INDEX;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a table identifier for the given index.
+     *
+     * @param index table index
+     * @return table identifier
+     */
+    public static IndexTableId of(int index) {
+        return new IndexTableId(index);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/TableId.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/TableId.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0207f84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/TableId.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017-present Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.net.flow;
+
+/**
+ * Match+action table identifier.
+ */
+public interface TableId {
+
+    /**
+     * Types of table identifier.
+     */
+    enum Type {
+        /**
+         * Signifies that the table identifier corresponds to the position of the table in the pipeline.
+         */
+        INDEX,
+
+        /**
+         * Signifies that the table identifier is pipeline-independent.
+         */
+        PIPELINE_INDEPENDENT
+    }
+
+    Type type();
+}
diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/runtime/PiTableId.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/runtime/PiTableId.java
index 1740834..add75ec 100644
--- a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/runtime/PiTableId.java
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/runtime/PiTableId.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
 import org.onlab.util.Identifier;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.TableId;
 
 import java.util.Optional;
 
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@
  * Identifier of a table in a protocol-independent pipeline.
  */
 @Beta
-public final class PiTableId extends Identifier<String> {
+public final class PiTableId extends Identifier<String> implements TableId  {
 
     private final String scope;
     private final String name;
@@ -85,5 +86,8 @@
         return Optional.ofNullable(scope);
     }
 
-
+    @Override
+    public Type type() {
+        return Type.PIPELINE_INDEPENDENT;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowEntryAdapter.java b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowEntryAdapter.java
index 6937647..cc8ee99 100644
--- a/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowEntryAdapter.java
+++ b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/flow/FlowEntryAdapter.java
@@ -134,6 +134,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public TableId table() {
+        return DEFAULT_TABLE;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public boolean exactMatch(FlowRule rule) {
         return false;
     }
diff --git a/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/intent/IntentTestsMocks.java b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/intent/IntentTestsMocks.java
index fbd134f..43d051c 100644
--- a/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/intent/IntentTestsMocks.java
+++ b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/intent/IntentTestsMocks.java
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowId;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRule;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleExtPayLoad;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.IndexTableId;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.TableId;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.TrafficSelector;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.TrafficTreatment;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.criteria.Criterion;
@@ -314,14 +316,14 @@
         static int nextId = 0;
 
         int priority;
-        int tableId;
+        IndexTableId tableId;
         long timestamp;
         int id;
         FlowRuleExtPayLoad payLoad;
 
         public MockFlowRule(int priority) {
             this.priority = priority;
-            this.tableId = 0;
+            this.tableId = DEFAULT_TABLE;
             this.timestamp = System.currentTimeMillis();
             this.id = nextId++;
             this.payLoad = null;
@@ -414,6 +416,11 @@
 
         @Override
         public int tableId() {
+            return tableId.id();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public TableId table() {
             return tableId;
         }
 
diff --git a/core/store/serializers/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/serializers/KryoNamespaces.java b/core/store/serializers/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/serializers/KryoNamespaces.java
index 64fdba3..39c9828 100644
--- a/core/store/serializers/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/serializers/KryoNamespaces.java
+++ b/core/store/serializers/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/serializers/KryoNamespaces.java
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleBatchRequest;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleEvent;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleExtPayLoad;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.IndexTableId;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.StoredFlowEntry;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.TableId;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.TableStatisticsEntry;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.criteria.ArpHaCriterion;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.criteria.ArpOpCriterion;
@@ -194,6 +196,7 @@
 import org.onosproject.net.packet.DefaultOutboundPacket;
 import org.onosproject.net.packet.DefaultPacketRequest;
 import org.onosproject.net.packet.PacketPriority;
+import org.onosproject.net.pi.runtime.PiTableId;
 import org.onosproject.net.provider.ProviderId;
 import org.onosproject.net.region.DefaultRegion;
 import org.onosproject.net.region.Region;
@@ -354,6 +357,9 @@
                     DefaultFlowEntry.class,
                     StoredFlowEntry.class,
                     DefaultFlowRule.class,
+                    TableId.class,
+                    IndexTableId.class,
+                    PiTableId.class,
                     FlowRule.FlowRemoveReason.class,
                     DefaultPacketRequest.class,
                     PacketPriority.class,
diff --git a/web/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/rest/resources/IntentsResourceTest.java b/web/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/rest/resources/IntentsResourceTest.java
index ba4b3d7..61b1b4a 100644
--- a/web/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/rest/resources/IntentsResourceTest.java
+++ b/web/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/rest/resources/IntentsResourceTest.java
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRule;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleExtPayLoad;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.FlowRuleService;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.TableId;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.TrafficSelector;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.TrafficTreatment;
 import org.onosproject.net.flow.criteria.Criterion;
@@ -347,6 +348,11 @@
         }
 
         @Override
+        public TableId table() {
+            return DEFAULT_TABLE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
         public boolean exactMatch(FlowRule rule) {
             return false;
         }