Patent ID: 8817619

Claim:
A network system comprising: a switch network; a target device coupled to the switch network, wherein the target device corresponds to a target priority level; and a first source device and a second source device for respectively issuing a first packet and a second packet to the target device via the switch network, wherein the first packet corresponds to a first priority level; wherein the switch network comprises: a flow control unit, coupled to the first source device, for receiving the first packet, and in response to the first priority level being a high priority, performing a flow control procedure according to both the target priority level and a high priority bandwidth quota of the first source device, wherein the high priority bandwidth quota represents a number of high priority packets the first source device is allowed to output within a predetermined period of time, wherein the flow control unit determines whether to output the first packet based on the flow control procedure; and in response to the first priority level being a low priority, the flow control unit directly outputs the first packet; a switch unit, coupled to the flow control unit and the second source device, for determining a forwarding sequence of the first and second packets according to a packet arbitration policy, the switch unit further comprising a parameter register for storing parameters associated with the packet arbitration policy; and a scheduling unit for receiving the first and second packets from the switch unit and determining a sequence for the first and second packets to enter the target device, wherein the scheduling unit updates the target priority level as a priority level of a packet which enters the target device, and informs the flow control unit of the updated target priority level.