Patent ID: 8897137

Claim:
A method comprising steps of: receiving a plurality of packets in a router of a packet data network; determining a quality of service (QOS) class for each packet of the received plurality of packets; routing each received packet having a particular QOS class to a buffer associated with the particular QOS class, the buffer having an adjustable capacity; computing an updated capacity for the buffer associated with the particular QOS class based on a first QOS parameter, a second QOS parameter and an arrival rate of packets in the buffer; wherein the first QOS parameter corresponds to an end-to-end delay performance requirement and the updated capacity of the buffer is decreased in response to a lowering of the first QOS parameter, and the second QOS parameter corresponds to a packet loss requirement for the QOS class of the buffer and the updated capacity of the buffer is increased in response to a lowering of the second QOS parameter; and adjusting the adjustable capacity of the buffer according to the updated capacity.