Abstract: An apparatus for managing transfer of a packet of information to one of a plurality of ports with each the port having an associated port speed includes a double linked list transmit queue and a plurality of port queues corresponding to the plurality of ports. The packet is read to determine a priority and destination port of the packet. A loadsheding value correlating to the packet's destination port and priority is determined and compared with a measure of the amount of free space in the transmit queue. The packet is loaded into the transmit queue if the loadsheding value is less than or equal to the measure of the amount of free space in the transmit queue. The packet is discarded in the event the loadsheding value is greater than the measure of the amount of free space in the transmit queue.