Major Traffic Control Techniques - 3Com 4210 9-Port Configuration Manual

traffic, and setting priority of the packets. To meet those requirements, the network should be provided
with better service capability.

Major Traffic Control Techniques

Figure 1-1 End-to-end QoS model
Traffic classification, traffic policing, traffic shaping, congestion management, and congestion
avoidance are the foundations for a network to provide differentiated services. Mainly they implement
the following functions.
Traffic classification identifies traffic based on certain matching rules. It is a prerequisite for
differentiated services and is usually applied in the inbound direction of a port.
Traffic policing confines traffic to a specific specification and is usually applied in the inbound
direction of a port. You can configure restriction or penalty measures against the exceeding traffic
to protect carrier benefits and network resources.
Traffic shaping adapts output traffic rate usually to the input capability of the receiving device to
avoid packet drop and port congestion. Traffic shaping is usually applied in the outbound direction
of a port.
Congestion management handles resource competition during network congestion. Generally, it
puts packets into queues first, and then schedules the packets with a certain algorithm. Congestion
management is usually applied in the outbound direction of a port.
Congestion avoidance monitors the use of network resources and drops packets actively when
congestion reaches certain degree. It relieves network load by adjusting traffic. Congestion
avoidance is usually applied in the outbound direction of a port.
Traffic classification is the basis of all the above-mentioned traffic management technologies. It
identifies packets using certain rules and makes differentiated services possible. Traffic policing, traffic
shaping, congestion management, and congestion avoidance are methods for implementing network
traffic control and network resource management. They are occurrences of differentiated services.
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