Patent ID: 7512132

Claim:
A method for eliminating the reordering of a plurality of packets when a Quality of Service (QoS) class is altered for one of the packets, said method comprising the steps of: marking, at a first node, said altered packet with an indicator that indicates an old QoS class and a new QoS class of said altered packet; upon receiving said altered packet at a second node, checking the indicator in said altered packet; queuing, at said second node, said altered packet in the old QoS class and said remaining plurality of packets in the old QoS class; allocating, at said second node, a proxy packet in the new QoS class; once the proxy packet is scheduled to be serviced at said second node, servicing a head-of-line packet from said remaining plurality of packets queued in the old QoS class as being in the new QoS class instead of servicing and sending the proxy packet to a third node; and marking, at said second node, said head-of-line packet with an indicator that indicates the old QoS class and the new QoS class of said head-of-line packet before sending said head-of-line packet to the third node.