Circuit and method for shaping traffic in a virtual connection network

摘要

A method for controlling the data rate of a virtual connection. Data packets are received for transmission on the virtual connection. The method comprises buffering the data packets in a buffer. A counter signal is generated to indicate the beginning of timeslots in a measurement window. The number of timeslots needed to transmit the data packets with a selected data rate is determined. The method further accesses data from at least one table to determine the spacing between timeslots in the measurement window used to request access to a data bus based on the number of timeslots needed to achieve the selected data rate. Further, access to a data bus for the data packets in the buffer is requested based on the data accessed from the table. The method further transmits the packets when access to the bus is granted.