Patent ID: 7391785

Claim:
A method in a store and forward device for actively managing a data queue in a buffer having one or more data packets, the method comprising the steps of: assigning the data queue an initial state; discarding an incoming data packet if the data queue is currently full; determining a level of congestion currently experienced by the data queue if the data queue is not full; reassigning the data queue to one of a plurality of states based on the determined level of congestion and the current state of the data queue, wherein the plurality of states comprise a series of successive states that are each associated with a different probability of dropping an incoming packet that is higher than that of a previous state and that are not derived from a length of the data queue; deciding whether to discard the incoming data packet based on the current state of the data queue; reassigning the data queue to one of a plurality of states based on the determined level of congestion and the current state of the data queue if the incoming data packet is discarded; and upon arrival of another data packet, recycling back to determining a level of congestion currently experienced by the data queue.