Patent ID: 7719968
Filing Date: 2010-05-18
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a metering device having colored rows and classified columns of token buckets, a method to give preferential treatment to higher priority traffic and allow lower priority traffic to consume up to all available bandwidth based on an absence of the higher priority traffic or a bandwidth consumption rate of the higher priority traffic which is less than a sum of a committed information rate and a peak information rate associated with the higher priority traffic, wherein the method comprises: adding tokens to a first token bucket in a first colored row having a high priority, wherein the tokens are added at a committed information rate up to a maximum number of tokens allowed in the first token bucket, wherein tokens in the first token bucket in excess of the committed information rate and up to the maximum number of tokens allowed in the first token bucket correspond to the peak information rate for the first token bucket, and wherein the higher priority traffic consumes tokens from the first token bucket based on the bandwidth consumption rate of the higher priority traffic; adding tokens in excess of the maximum number of tokens allowed in the first token bucket to one or more other token buckets in the same first colored row having the same high priority and a different classified column, wherein the tokens are added to the one or more other token buckets at the committed information rate, and wherein the higher priority traffic consumes tokens from the one or more other token buckets based on the bandwidth consumption rate being in excess of the committed information rate and the peak information rate recjuiring more tokens than are available in the first token bucket; adding tokens in excess of a maximum number of tokens allowed in the one or more other token buckets to a lower priority token bucket belonging to a different colored row having a lower priority than the first token bucket in the first colored row and belonging to the same classified column as the first token bucket, wherein the tokens are added to the lower priority token bucket at the commilled information rate up to a maximum number of tokens allowed in the lower priority token bucket; and discarding tokens at the committed information rate when all token buckets in all colored rows possess a maximum number of tokens allowed within each of the respective token buckets.