Patent ID: 8553567

Claim:
A method of dropping packets at an access point wirelessly coupled to a plurality of devices operatively coupled to a network, comprising: receiving, by the access point, a first indicator of throughput capacity of with a wireless link between the access point and the first device; receiving, by the access point, a second indicator of throughput capacity of with a wireless link between the access point and the second device; receiving, by the access point, a third indicator of throughput capacity of with a wireless link between the access point and a third device; discovering a throughput capacity of a backhaul link between the access point and the network; receiving, at a buffer of the access point, a first packet from the first device; receiving, at a buffer of the access point, a second packet from the second device; receiving, at a buffer of the access point, a third packet from the third device; discarding the third packet from the buffer of the access point, when the third indicator of throughput capacity is greater than the throughput capacity of the second device, a combined throughput capacity of the first device, second device, and third device, and available space in the buffer meets a space availability criteria; and, sending, by the access point to the network, the first packet and dropping the second packet based on the first indicator of throughput capacity, the second indicator of throughput capacity, and the discovered throughput capacity of the backhaul link, when the first indicator of throughput capacity and the second indicator of throughput capacity indicate that the throughput capacity of the first wireless device is less than the throughput capacity of the second wireless device.