Patent ID: 7336611

Claim:
A method for controlling a data flow in a data network, the method comprising: setting a stable integral controller gain k i for said data network; specifying a plurality of precedence grades, each of said precedence grades having a priority associated thereto; for each precedence grade, calculating a cumulative data arrival rate R(n) where R(n) is the sum of the data arrival rates for a particular precedence grade under consideration plus the data arrival rates of all precedence grades with a higher priority than said particular precedence grade under consideration; for each precedence grade calculating a normalized error signal e(n), according to the relation e ( n )=( T ( n )− R ( n ))/ x, where T(n) is an assigned precedence grade capacity at time n, and x is a nominal packet size; for each precedence grade computing a mark/drop probability p(n) according to the relation p ( n )=min {max [ p ( n− 1)+ k i ·Δt·e ( n ), 0], p max } where Δt is the time interval between a (n−1) th and the n th computation, and 0<p max ≦1; and for each precedence grade executing a packet mark/drop routine based upon the calculated mark/drop probability p(n).