Patent ID: 7333437

Claim:
An apparatus for transmitting a packet from a data queue through an associated protocol stack wherein the protocol stack is associated with one or more linked data structures, each data structure being embodied in at least one computer readable media and indicating whether an associated protocol context is congested and is associated with a next data structure, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein at least one of the memory and the processor are configured to: (a) determine whether a current protocol context in the protocol stack is congested by reference to an associated current data structure; (b) if it is determined that the current protocol context is congested, hold the packet within the data queue; (c) if it is determined that the current protocol context is not congested, determine whether there is a next data structure to check for congestion; and (d) if it is determined that there is not a next data structure, transmit the packet through the protocol stack.