Patent ID: 7756977

Claim:
A packet switch comprising: a plurality of ports, wherein at least one of the plurality of ports is configured to accept an incoming packet; a packet classification engine configured to classify the incoming packet according to its priority based on Quality of Service wherein the classification is used by a first engine to produce a lifetime value, the lifetime value relating to an aging time, and wherein the packet classification engine determines a weight value based on the priority of the incoming packet; an output queue configured to receive the incoming packet and the associated lifetime value, wherein the output queue comprises a buffer to store the incoming packet; an aging engine configured to periodically change the lifetime value of the incoming packet in the output queue; the first engine configured to produce the lifetime value based on the weight value and a queue occupancy in the output queue to which the incoming packet is assigned; and a comparator configured to remove the incoming packet from the output queue when the changed lifetime value reaches a predetermined threshold value.