Abstract: In a network device of a broadband access device, granularity of queue rates is improved by introducing intermediate rates in addition to those conventionally provided. When an intermediate rate between a first 10 Mbps queue rate and a second 5 Mbps queue rate, for instance, is desired for a traffic flow, a skip interval in a traffic shaper is configured to calculate a skip interval value according to the 5 Mbps rate, while each PDU of the specific traffic flow is subjected to a further override-interval-calculation decision: with a 50% probability, for instance, a skip zero queue interval (used for the 10 Mbps rate) is applied to the PDU, instead of the skip interval value calculated for the PDU in the traffic shaper. As a result, an intermediate rate, such as 7.5 Mbps, is obtained.

Abstract: In a network device of a broadband access device, granularity of queue rates is improved by introducing intermediate rates in addition to those conventionally provided. When an intermediate rate between a first 10 Mbps queue rate and a second 5 Mbps queue rate, for instance, is desired for a traffic flow, a skip interval in a traffic shaper is configured to calculate a skip interval value according to the 5 Mbps rate, while each PDU of the specific traffic flow is subjected to a further override-interval-calculation decision: with a 50% probability, for instance, a skip zero queue interval (used for the 10 Mbps rate) is applied to the PDU, instead of the skip interval value calculated for the PDU in the traffic shaper. As a result, an intermediate rate, such as 7.5 Mbps, is obtained.