Patent ID: 9705812
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method for providing a fairness protocol in a network element, comprising: receiving one or more packets at each of a plurality of ingress ports of the network element; scheduling the one or more packets into a plurality of queues, wherein each of the plurality of queues is associated with packets that are sourced from one of the plurality of ingress ports; monitoring a bandwidth of traffic sourced from each of the plurality of ingress ports; identifying a port among the plurality of ingress ports that sources a smallest bandwidth of traffic; and arbitrating among the plurality of queues when transmitting packets from an egress port of the network element by giving precedence to the identified port that sources the smallest bandwidth of traffic, wherein giving precedence to the identified port comprises transmitting additional packets from a queue associated with packets that are sourced from the identified port, and wherein arbitrating among the plurality of queues distributes a bandwidth of the egress port equally among the plurality of ingress ports.