Patent ID: 7787468

Claim:
A method performed by a network device, comprising: receiving, by one or more devices of the network device, a connection request associated with a plurality of data units, the connection request including an indication of a transfer type; determining, by one or more devices of the network device, whether the transfer type is a first transfer type; identifying, by one or more devices of the network device, when the transfer type is the first transfer type, a declared transfer rate for a connection associated with the connection request; selecting, by one or more devices of the network device, at least one of a plurality of queues associated with the first transfer type that has a forwarding rate that is not greater than the declared transfer rate; and determining, by one or more devices of the network device, whether the first transfer type is a first sub-type, where, when the first transfer type is the first sub-type, the method further comprising: determining, by one or more devices of the network device, whether the at least one queue is occupied, and forwarding, by one or more devices of the network device, when the at least one queue is not occupied, at least some of the data units to the at least one queue.