Patent ID: 8225321

Claim:
A method for enforcing a consumption rate limit for a resource in a data processing system, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a first request for consumption of the resource; calculating an accumulated resource availability using the consumption rate limit; in response to a determination that the accumulated resource availability is sufficient to satisfy the first request, satisfying the first request; calculating a residual resource availability; receiving a second request for consumption of the resource; calculating an additional accumulated resource availability using the consumption rate limit unless the residual resource availability is sufficient to satisfy the second request; wherein the accumulated resource availability is calculated as a product of a first elapsed time and the consumption rate limit, and the additional accumulated resource availability is calculated as a product of a second elapsed time and the consumption rate limit, the first elapsed time is an elapsed time up to the receipt of the first request, and the second elapsed time is an elapsed time between the receipt of the first request and the receipt of the second request.