Allocating bandwidth using resilient packet ring (RPR) fairness mechanism

A program storage device, readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of allocating bandwidth using a Resilient Packet Ring (RPR), the method comprising:

• determining whether congestion has occurred in a node connected to an RPR (Resilient Packet Ring) network during every aging interval;
• upon a determination that congestion occurred, defining a first fairness transmission rate as a first amount of traffic that the node has transmitted to a ring during one aging interval to reduce the amount of the traffic inputted from an upstream node, recording the first amount of the traffic together with its own identifier in a fairness message, advertising the recorded amount to upstream nodes and storing the first fairness transmission rate;
• measuring and storing a second amount of traffic that has been reduced in accordance with the first fairness transmission rate during the one aging interval and has been transmitted from the upstream node;
• and
• upon the congestion having been eliminated, calculating an available bandwidth in accordance with the stored first fairness transmission rate and the second amount of traffic, and determining a second fairness transmission rate in accordance with the calculated available bandwidth and transmitting the second fairness transmission rate to the upstream nodes.