Abstract: An event message buffer queues event messages from a number of system components. Upon receiving an event message from a system component, the event message buffer compares the event message with a pending event message from the same component. If the event message is the same as the pending event message, the event message is not queued. If the event message differs from the pending event message, the event message is queued. Upon receiving a read request, the event message buffer only transmits the queued event message if it is different from the previously sent event message.

Abstract: A network device includes queues for queuing packets, and functional circuitry to provide a processing resource to be shared by the queues. Further, the network device includes a first-in-first-out (FIFO) selection circuit that receives tokens respectively associated with the queues. The FIFO selection circuit buffers and outputs the tokens in a first-in-first-out manner. When a token is output by the FIFO selection circuit, a queue associated with the token is selected to provide a packet for the functional circuitry to process. When a queue associated with an output token having at least a second packet in the queue after the queue outputs a first packet, the FIFO selection circuit re-buffers the output token associated with the queue to permit the queue to output the second packet once the output token associated with the queue is again output by the FIFO selection circuit.