Variably delayable transmission of packets between independently clocked source, intermediate, and destination circuits while maintaining orderly and timely processing in one or both of the intermediate and destination circuits

3-35. (canceled)

In a system where one or more job processors exchange packets with at least one independently clocked one of plural receivers of processed jobs and each packet transmitted from a processor to a receiver can include a processed payload and where the at least one independently clocked receiver of processed jobs can be clocked slower than at least one of the job processors, a method comprising:

• (a) at least periodically causing a first time span between starts of successive packets of a flow going from job processors to receivers of processed jobs to be longer than a second time span between starts of successive packets of a flow going from the receivers to job processors so that a fastest one of the job processors cannot continuously outpace the at least one independently clocked receiver in terms of rate of packets output by the fastest job processors versus rate of packets output by the at least one independently clocked receiver.

A system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of job processors;
• (b) a plurality of receivers of processed job data produced by one or more of the job processors where at least one of the receivers is independently clocked relative to at least one of the job processors, where the receivers and job processors exchange packets with one another and each packet transmitted from a processor to a receiver can include a processed payload, and further where the at least one independently clocked receiver of processed jobs can be clocked slower than at least one of the job processors;
• (c) first data rate constraining means for at least periodically causing a first time span between starts of successive packets of a flow going from job processors to receivers of processed jobs to be longer than a second time span between starts of successive packets of a flow going from the receivers to job processors so that a fastest one of the job processors cannot continuously outpace the at least one independently clocked receiver in terms of rate of packets output by the fastest job processors versus rate of packets output by the at least one independently clocked receiver.