APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING DIFFERENT QUALITY OF SERVICE CONNECTIONS IN A TUNNEL MODE

摘要

A traffic manager system coupled to a communication system for scheduling transmission of data associated with a plurality of connections in the communication system. The traffic manager includes a schedule table, a global priority queue, and a scheduler. The schedule table includes a plurality of slot locations, each having a least one tunnel entry. The scheduler is coupled to the schedule table and the global priority queue. The global priority queue has a tunnel level associated with the tunnel entry of the slot. The scheduler processes the slot locations in the schedule table and sets a tunnel active in response to processing the tunnel entry. The scheduler selects at least one connection from the tunnel level when active, which thus provides for the selection of connections from a plurality of service classes. As such, the scheduler allows per connection shaping in the tunnel mode. The scheduler, thus, maximizes communication bandwidth.