diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cli/net/IpProtocol.java b/cli/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cli/net/IpProtocol.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4be169b
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+++ b/cli/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cli/net/IpProtocol.java
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2014 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.onlab.onos.cli.net;
+
+import org.onlab.packet.IPv4;
+
+/**
+ * Known protocol values for IP protocol field that can be supplied to the CLI.
+ */
+public enum IpProtocol {
+    /** ICMP. **/
+    ICMP(IPv4.PROTOCOL_ICMP),
+    /** TCP. **/
+    TCP(IPv4.PROTOCOL_TCP),
+    /** UDP. **/
+    UDP(IPv4.PROTOCOL_UDP);
+
+    private short value;
+
+    /**
+     * Constructs an IpProtocol with the given value.
+     *
+     * @param value value to use when this IpProtocol is seen
+     */
+    private IpProtocol(short value) {
+        this.value = value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the value to use for this IpProtocol.
+     *
+     * @return short value to use for this IpProtocol
+     */
+    public short value() {
+        return this.value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Parse a string input that could contain an IpProtocol value. The value
+     * may appear in the string either as a known protocol name (one of the
+     * values of this enum), or a numeric protocol value.
+     *
+     * @param input the input string to parse
+     * @return the numeric value of the parsed IP protocol
+     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the input string does not contain a
+     * value that can be parsed into an IP protocol
+     */
+    public static short parseFromString(String input) {
+        try {
+            return valueOf(input).value();
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            // The input is not a known IP protocol name, let's see if it's an IP
+            // protocol value (byte). We parse with Short to handle unsigned values
+            // correctly.
+            try {
+                return Short.parseShort(input);
+            } catch (NumberFormatException e1) {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                        "IpProtocol value must be either a string protocol name"
+                        + " or an 8-bit protocol value");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}