Patent ID: 8848718
Filing Date: 2014-09-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: storing, within a shared memory system a routing platform, a plurality of metering contexts, each of the plurality of metering contexts containing information regarding a status and a state of one or more packet flows of a plurality of packet flows; applying, by a metering procedure operable within the routing platform, a first level of metering of a set of hierarchical levels of metering associated with a first packet flow of the plurality of packet flows to the first packet flow by comparing a packet rate of the first packet flow against a first set of traffic rate parameters established for the first packet flow and stored in a first metering context of the plurality of metering contexts; applying, by the metering procedure, a next level of metering of the set of hierarchical levels of metering associated with the first packet flow to the first packet flow and a second packet flow of the plurality of packet flows by comparing packet rates of both the first packet flow and the second packet flow against a second set of traffic rate parameters established for the first packet flow and the second packet flow and stored in a second metering context of the plurality of metering contexts; selectively dropping, by the routing platform, packets of the first packet flow when (i) the packet rate of the first packet flow exceeds a traffic rate parameter of the first set of traffic rate parameters, and (ii) the packet rates of the first packet flow and the second packet flow when combined together exceed a traffic rate parameter of the second set of traffic rate parameters; and refraining from dropping, by the routing platform, packets of the first packet flow when (i) the packet rate of the first packet flow exceeds the traffic rate parameter of the first set of traffic rate parameters, and (ii) the packet rates of the first packet flow and the second packet flow when combined together do not exceed the traffic rate parameter of the second set of rate parameters; whereby a metering policy of the routing platform may allow packets at lower levels of the set of hierarchical levels of metering to exceed a predefined packet profile provided that a higher-level packet profile has not been exceeded.