Per-port penalty queue system for re-prioritization of network traffic sent to a processor

An apparatus for a per-port penalty queue system, the apparatus comprising:

• a network device configured selecting a state for a port in the network device;
• wherein the selected state comprises either a normal state or a restricted state;
• wherein the normal state permits a packet received at the port of the network device to be copied to a first queue;
• and
• wherein the restricted state causes the packet to be copied to a penalty queue which has lower priority than the first queue or causes the packet to not be copied to a queue.

An apparatus for a per-port penalty queue system in a network device, the apparatus comprising:

• means for selecting a state for a port in the network device;
• wherein the selected state comprises either a normal state or a restricted state;
• wherein the normal state permits a packet received at the port to be copied to a first queue;
• and wherein the restricted state causes the packet to be copied to a penalty queue which has lower priority than the first queue or causes the packet to not be copied to a queue.

An article of manufacture, comprising:

• a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions to:
• select a state for a port in the network device;
• wherein the selected state comprises either a normal state or a restricted state;
• wherein the normal state permits a packet received at the port to be copied to a first queue;
• and
• wherein the restricted state causes the packet to be copied to a penalty queue which has lower priority than the first queue or causes the packet to not be copied to a queue.