Patent ID: 7280560

Claim:
A method for handling traffic in a communication network, comprising: receiving a group of flows of data packets for transmission over the network; setting an aggregate limit on a total rate of transmission of information by the group of flows; setting individual limits on the flows including a respective individual limit on an individual rate of transmission of the information by each of the flows in the group; when the information carried by the packets in any given one of the flows is in excess of the respective individual limit, tagging the packets in excess of the respective individual limit in the given one of the flows with a first excess flow tag; when the total rate of transmission of the information is in excess of the aggregate limit, tagging with a second excess flow tag the packets in excess of the aggregate limit that are not tagged with the first excess flow tag; and allocating resources in the network to convey the packets responsive to the first and second excess flow tags, wherein receiving the group of flows comprises receiving the packets for transmission using one or more guaranteed services, and wherein setting the aggregate and individual limits comprises imposing the limits on the one or more guaranteed services, and wherein allocating the resources comprises transmitting the packets that are not tagged with either the first or second excess flow tag with a higher priority than the tagged packets.