Ciena Corporation
Systems and methods for distributing unused bandwidth of metered flows in an envelope based on weights

Abstract:

System and methods of ingress packet metering include receiving a plurality of flows combined to form an envelope with a specific bandwidth, wherein the envelope is defined such that unused bandwidth from higher rank flows is usable by lower rank flows; admitting packets from the plurality of flows based on committed tokens and excess tokens; determining unused tokens in a time interval; and distributing the unused tokens based on configured weights of the plurality of flows within the envelope. The unused tokens can be provided from a lower rank flow to a higher rank flow. The unused tokens can be determined utilizing Two Rate Three Color Marker (trTCM) metering. The receiving can be at a User-Network Interface (UNI), a Network-Network Interface (NNI), or an External NNI (ENNI) port in a node.