Patent ID: 7733868

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving data from a source in a single stream; storing a sequence vector of a packet within the packet on an accessible storage device, wherein the sequence vector includes: a layer identifier indicating a relative location of the packet within a hierarchy of virtual layers, and a packet identifier of a most recently received packet in each virtual layer in the stream, the layer identifier further indicating an importance of the packet, wherein the importance of the packet reflects a priority of the packet and influences a probability that the packet is selected to be dropped; forwarding the data to multiple concurrent receivers over a packet switched network via a network interface; updating a reliable list of virtual layers based on the received data and the sequence vector of the packet; detecting, by a processor in communications with the accessible storage device, inadequate bandwidth to transmit the stream to a destination; and selecting a virtual layer of high priority packets from the hierarchy of virtual layers in the stream to forward to the destination based on the layer identifier and the reliable list.