Patent ID: 8139481

Claim:
An equipment for shaping transmission speed of a data traffic flow in which each protocol data unit is arranged to belong to one of at least two traffic categories, the equipment comprising control equipment arranged to: a) determine, in response to sending of a protocol data unit, whether sending of a next protocol data unit should be delayed in order to meet a condition set on the transmission speed of the data traffic flow, b) delay the sending of the next protocol data unit in response to a situation in which the next protocol data unit belongs to a first traffic category and the sending of the next protocol data unit should be delayed in order to meet the condition set on the transmission speed of the data traffic flow, c) determine whether transfer speed of protocol data units belonging to a second traffic category and constituting part of the traffic flow meets a preset condition, d) allow the sending of the next protocol data unit in response to a situation in which the next protocol data unit belongs to the second traffic category and the transfer speed meets the preset condition, even if the sending of the next protocol data unit should be delayed in order to meet the condition set on the transmission speed, e) delay the sending of the next protocol data unit in response to a situation in which the next protocol data unit belongs to the second traffic category and the sending of the next protocol data unit should be delayed in order to meet the condition set on the transmission speed and the transfer speed does not meet the preset condition, and f) allow the sending of said next protocol data unit in response to a situation in which (i) there is no need to delay the sending of said next protocol data unit in order to meet the condition set on the transmission speed and (ii) said transfer speed does not meet the preset condition, and also in response to a situation in which (i) there is no need to delay the sending of said next protocol data unit in order to meet the condition set on the transmission speed and (ii) said transfer speed meets the preset condition.