Patent ID: 8305895

Claim:
A network device comprising: a rate monitor to dynamically monitor an actual individual message rate of event messages sent from each one of a plurality of sending devices operatively in communication with the network device, the event messages being sent from the respective sending devices to the network device for processing by the network device, the actual individual message rate indicating a number of event messages per time period; an allocator to adaptively allocate an individual message rate limit to each of the plurality of sending devices, to maintain a global event message rate of event messages received from the plurality of sending devices at or below a global message rate budget that is lower than a processing capacity of the network device for processing incoming event message, adaptive allocation of the individual message rate limits being responsive to dynamic monitoring of the actual individual message rate of event messages by the rate monitor; and a communication module to communicate a rate limit instruction to at least one of the sending devices based respectively on an associated individual message rate limit allocated by the allocator, the rate limit instruction to limit the transmission rate of event messages.