Patent ID: 7012889
Filing Date: 2006-03-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An apparatus comprising: a plurality of rate monitors to measure the rate at which traffic arrives for each of a plurality of outputs of a packet switching system; one or more state data structures indicating a state of each of the plurality of outputs of the packet switching system; and a rate-controlled virtual output queue for each of the plurality of outputs of the packet switching system, each of the rate controlled virtual output queues adjusting a rate at which packets are sent to a particular destination based at least in part on the measured traffic arrival rate for the particular destination and the state for the particular destination; wherein the one or more state data structures maintains an indication of one of at least three different states for each of the plurality of outputs of the packet switching system; and wherein packets are not sent to a particular output when the particular output is in a first state, packets are sent to the particular output at approximately the measured traffic arrival rate when the particular output is in a second state, and packets are sent to the particular output at a reduced rate approximately proportional to the measured traffic arrival rate when the particular output is in a third state.