Patent ID: 8582440

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, by a transmitter component of a network device, a packet for forwarding to a receiver component of the network device; receiving, by the transmitter component and from the receiver component, a flow control sequence number (FCSN); comparing, by the transmitter component, the FCSN to a next sequence number to transmit (NTSN); waiting, by the transmitter component, for a flow control update from the receiver component when the FCSN is greater than or equal to the NTSN; enabling, by the transmitter component, the packet to be forwarded when the FCSN is less than the NTSN; receiving, by the transmitter component and from the receiver component, flow control data for the packet, the flow control data including the flow control update; providing, by the transmitter component, the packet and the flow control data to a fabric component of the network device; performing, by the fabric component, a congestion management operation for the packet to obtain results of the congestion management operation; and forwarding, by the fabric component, the packet to the receiver component based on the flow control data and the results of the congestion management operation.