A system and method is provided for traffic management and regulation in a packet-based communication network, the system and method facilitating proactive, discriminating congestion control on a per flow basis of packets traversing the Internet via use of a Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED) algorithm that monitors the incoming packet queue and optimizes enqueuing or discard of incoming packets to stabilize queue length and promote efficient packet processing. During optimized discard conditions, the system and method discern a relative priority among incoming packets, distribute packets with a relatively high priority and discard packets with a relatively low priority. Additionally, packet traffic are policed and discarded according to packet type, quantity or other predetermined criteria. The present invention performs in periodic mode, demand mode or both, and can be implemented as a hardware solution, a software solution, or a combination thereof.
RELATED APPLICATION
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/341,342, filing date Dec. 14, 2001, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
A communications system is described for enforcing a service level agreement for a specified customer on a network. The communications system includes a router to receive at least one packet containing data. A management system is in communication with the router, where the management system provides access control commands to the router for the specified customer based upon an agreed upon codec and an agreed upon packet length. A detection system is in communication with the router. The detection system extracts a codec information and a packet length information from the packet. If the codec matches the agreed upon codec and the packet length matches the agreed upon packet length, then the packet is allowed to proceed. Otherwise the packet is dropped from the network.