1. A method comprising: at a first network element configured to perform routing or switching operations in a network, obtaining Type field and Subgroup field information for each of a plurality of network-connected devices to which the first network element is connected, the Type field being a bit map representation of capabilities of the network-connected device and the Subgroup field being a binary expression of a number representing a subgroup to which the network-connected device is a member; appending to each of a plurality of routing entries maintained by the first network element a tag comprising a Type field and a Subgroup field for each network-connected device so that each routing entry comprises an identifier for the network-connected device, together with the Type field and Subgroup field for the network-connected device; generating summarized information of a plurality of routing entries maintained by the first network element, the summarized information consolidating the Type field and Subgroup field information for the plurality of routing entries; and advertising capabilities of the network-connected devices connected to the first network element by sending to one or more other network elements a message comprising summarized routing entries and associated summarized Type field and Subgroup field information to.