Network prioritization based on node-level attributes

A method, comprising:

• a network switch receiving, from each node of a plurality of nodes, a packet with a packet header that includes a value of a node-level attribute selected from the group consisting of a node utilization level, a node role, and a dependency involving the node;
• the network switch using the value of the node-level attribute in the packet received from each node to determine a relative priority among the plurality of nodes, wherein the relative priority of each node among the plurality of nodes is determined by a relative point total, wherein a point total for each node is a cumulative sum of a utilization score, a dependency score, and a role score;
• and
• the network switch prioritizing transmission of each of the received packets based on the relative priority of the node from which the packet is received.

A method, comprising:

• a management entity receiving, from each node of a plurality of nodes,
• a value of a node-level attribute selected from a node utilization level, a node role, and a dependency involving the node;
• the management entity determining a priority for each node as a function of the value of the node-level attribute received from each node;
• the management entity sending the priority for each node to a network switch;
• and
• the management entity instructing the network switch to prioritize transmission of each packet received by the network switch from the plurality of nodes based on the priority for the node from which the packet is received.