Patent ID: 7697431

Claim:
A method of supporting a virtual circuit in a first ATM device, said virtual circuit being provided through an adjacent ATM device, comprising: configuring a bandwidth of said virtual circuit to a first value, wherein said first value is associated with a plurality of paths between the devices being operational with said plurality of paths providing an aggregate available bandwidth to said virtual circuit; determining whether said aggregate available bandwidth along said plurality of paths from said first ATM device to said adjacent ATM device has changed; changing said bandwidth of said virtual circuit to a second value if said aggregate available bandwidth is determined to have changed, wherein said second value is not equal to said first value; wherein the second value is computed using at least a first QoS parameter when said aggregate available bandwidth is determined to have changed, and wherein the first QoS parameter comprises a peak cell rate (PCR), the computing including multiplying the first value by a number of active operational paths and dividing by a total number of paths to generate the second value.