Patent ID: 7301907

Claim:
A method of controlling packet flow through a network node in a packet-switched communication network, said node having a buffer in which a queue of packets is formed, wherein the size of the queue increases when an input transmission rate is greater than an output transmission rate, the size of the queue decreases when the input transmission rate is less than the output transmission rate, and incoming packets are dropped if the buffer becomes full, said method comprising: obtaining at least three measurements of instantaneous queue size; determining from the relative sizes of the queue obtained in the measurements, a shape of a traffic pattern; determining from the absolute size of the queue obtained in a selected measurement, a level of the traffic pattern; determining from the absolute size of the queue obtained in a plurality of measurements over a predefined time period, a context of the traffic pattern; making an initial estimate of a future level of congestion based on the shape, level, and context of the traffic pattern; and establishing initial settings for traffic control parameters based on the initial estimate of the future level of congestion.