Queue sharing

Abstract

This invention provides queue sharing methods and apparatus of a queuing system which includes queues of multiple priorities or classes. When data is received in a class queue, for example, and the class queue is full, the queue is in an overflow condition and the data is overflow data. The queue sharing apparatus processes the overflow data by determining whether the overflow data may be placed in one of the other class queues which are not full. If higher class queues have higher performances than lower class queues, then when lower class queues are full, overflow data of the lower class queues may be placed in higher class queues without performance penalties. When higher class queues are full, the overflow data from the higher class queues may be placed in lower class queues. However, in this situation, a higher class buffer threshold is generated for the lower class queue to indicate when the higher class performance may be compromised.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.