Patent ID: 7889659

Claim:
A method for controlling a transmission rate of packet traffic, comprising: receiving a plurality of packets from a network processor; storing the plurality of packets in a buffer associated with at least one processor; determining that the at least one processor is congested by establishing that an occupancy level of the buffer is greater than a first predetermined threshold; transmitting a first message to the network processor indicating that the at least one processor is congested, the first message comprising a priority parameter that indicates a level of priority for the first message, the priority parameter indicating a high level of priority for the first message resulting in rapid processing of the first message at the network processor; decreasing a transmission rate of the network processor in response to the first message, the decreased transmission rate being greater than zero; determining that the at least one processor is not congested by establishing that an occupancy level of the buffer is less than a second predetermined threshold; transmitting a second message to the network processor indicating that the at least one processor is not congested; and increasing the transmission rate of the network processor in response to the second message.