System and method for hierarchical policing of flows and subflows of a data stream

A method for providing layered policing of packets of a data stream, comprising:

• parsing the data stream into one or more flows;
• parsing at least one of the flows into a high-priority subflow and at least one standard subflow;
• enabling the high-priority and standard subflows to be monitored for bandwidth conformance when the flow reaches a predetermined bandwidth threshold;
• marking the high-priority subflow as conforming while allowing the standard subflows to be marked as non-conforming if the flow becomes non-conforming;
• where the flow has become non-conforming, adjusting the bandwidth of the standard subflows to bring the flow into conformance.

A method for maximizing exploitation of a contracted bandwidth for a flow, comprising:

• parsing the flow into a high-priority subflow and at least one standard subflow;
• assigning rate limits to the high-priority subflow and the at least one standard subflow;
• monitoring packet conformance on a subflow level when the flow decreases to a predetermined bandwidth capacity;
• providing guaranteed bandwidth to the high-priority subflow while providing best effort bandwidth to the at least one standard subflow, regardless of whether the flow has exceeded its contracted bandwidth;
• if the flow has exceeded its contracted bandwidth, adjusting the bandwidth of the at least one standard subflow to bring the flow into conformance, while maintaining the guaranteed bandwidth to the high-priority subflow.