Abstract: An acceptor for admitting incoming requests to a server application includes a session manager that determines the class of an incoming request. The class includes a first class and a second class. A queuing module is provided to store the request if the incoming request is of the second class. A priority control module is provided to ensure that a predetermined number of requests are sent to the server application for service in each cycle. The priority control module allows (1) the predetermined number of the first class requests to be sent to the server application if the first class requests received in a cycle are at least equal to the predetermined number, and (2) a mixture of the first class requests and the second class requests to be sent to the server application if the first class requests received in a cycle are less than the predetermined number. A method of handling incoming requests to the server application is also described.