Patent ID: 7730202

Claim:
A method of adjusting a timer comprising: defining a plurality of timer activation periods; associating each timer activation period of the plurality of timer activation periods with a network condition, wherein the network condition is a characteristic of network congestion carried by a network; determining a current network condition; selecting, based on the current network condition, one of the timer activation periods from the plurality of timer activation periods; adjusting the timer activation period in response to a change in network congestion between a plurality of connection endpoints carried by the network, wherein the network congestion comprises a plurality of data flows, the number of connection endpoints is variable, each connection endpoint is defined by a network address and port number pair, the timer activation period comprises a time period between timer-driven interrupts, the adjusting comprises altering the timer activation period by increasing the timer activation period in response to detecting an increase in network congestion; and setting the timer using the timer activation period, wherein the timer is used in communicating information over the network.