Patent ID: 7525912

Claim:
A packet transmission apparatus comprising: an interface that receives a packet; a buffer that stores packets to be transmitted; an interface that sends the stored packets from the buffer under a line bandwidth; a bandwidth check unit that checks a bandwidth threshold set for each user who is a source of the received packet, wherein the bandwidth check unit judges that the packet received by said interface that receives the packet is a high priority packet when the received packet does not exceed the bandwidth threshold set for each user who is the source of the received packet, and wherein the bandwidth check unit judges that the packet received by said interface that receives the packet is a low priority packet when the received packet exceeds the bandwidth threshold set for each user who is the source of the received packet; and a control unit which stores a first threshold for the low priority packet and a second threshold for the high priority packet, wherein a total sum of the bandwidth threshold set for each user includes the first threshold for the low priority packet and the second threshold for the high priority packet, wherein the second threshold for the high priority packet is greater than the first threshold for the low priority packet, wherein the control unit judges whether the packet received is to be stored in said buffer or discarded based on priority of the received packet, and wherein the total sum of the bandwidth threshold set for each user is less than the line bandwidth.