Abstract: At a network interface, received packets are classified according to priority level or traffic class. Based on an assigned priority level, a received packet can be allocated to use a descriptor queue associated with the assigned priority level. The descriptor queue can have an associated buffer region in which portions of received packets are stored. The length of the descriptor queue can be dependent on the priority level such that a highest priority descriptor queue can be longer than a lowest priority descriptor queue. The size of the buffer can be dependent on the priority level such that a highest priority level can be assigned a separate buffer space of different size than that assigned to a lower priority level. A polling rate for a descriptor queue can be configured based on a priority level such that a highest priority level descriptor queue can be polled more frequently than a polling of a lower priority level descriptor queue.