Patent ID: 7778168

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a plurality of queue items at an input queue, wherein the input queue feeds a plurality of output queues that feed one or more output ports, wherein each of the plurality of queue items has a corresponding queue item priority and a corresponding output port from the one or more output ports, and wherein each of the plurality of output queues at an output port has a corresponding queue priority; determining whether a particular one of a plurality of output queues contains a number of queue items that meets or exceeds a pre-determined amount; and in response to a determination that the particular one of the plurality of output queues contains a number of queue items that meets or exceeds the pre-determined amount, preventing any queue items that have a same corresponding output port as the particular one of the plurality of output queues and that have a queue item priority greater than or equal to the queue priority of the particular one of the plurality of output queues from exiting the input queue.