TRAFFIC SHAPING WITH DELAY CONSTRAINTS

摘要

A method of shaping a packet traffic flow with time constraints is disclosed. These arrangements, instead of choosing the packet rate and inferring the resultant delay, directly constrain the delay for packets to be transmitted. The method comprises ordering (503) the packets on an Earliest Deadline First basis, determining (504) a deadline curve described by a set of ordered deadlines dependent upon the respective packet deadlines of the ordered packets, the deadline curve describing, at a particular time, the cumulative number of packets having deadlines less than or equal to the particular time; and determining (506) an exit curve denoting when each packet is to be transmitted, the exit curve being the shortest feasible path between the first said ordered deadline and the last said ordered deadline.