Patent ID: 8325607

Claim:
A method, comprising: employing a router to perform steps, with the router including: a route processor; and a plurality of line cards configured to send and receive packets; wherein the route processor includes a route processing mechanism, packet storage configured to store packets received from the plurality of line cards, and one or more resource monitoring mechanisms; and wherein said steps include: exchanging routing information by the route processor with one or more other routers peer to the router, with said routing information including updates of routing information; processing, by the route processing mechanism, updates received by the route processor of said updates of routing information; in response to identifying, by said one or more resource monitoring mechanisms, that one or more resource utilization values affected by traffic received by the route processor from one or more of the plurality of line cards have reached or exceeded one or more predetermined values: communicating, by the route processor to at least one of said one or more of the plurality of line cards, one or more values representing one or more admission control parameters; and enforcing, by said at least one of said one or more of the plurality of line cards, said one or more admission control parameters on packet traffic destined for the route processor in order to reduce said packet traffic destined for the route processor.