Analyzing Interaction Between CCAs and Traffic Policers
2026-07-10 • Networking and Internet Architecture
Networking and Internet Architecture
AI summaryⓘ
The authors present a detailed system to understand how traffic policers, tools that control data flow using methods like phantom queues or token buckets, work with any congestion control algorithm (CCA). Their system helps network providers decide the best settings for these policers, such as queue sizes and rate limits. They also explain why CCAs behave differently when interacting with traffic policers compared to traffic shapers, which are another way to manage network traffic.
traffic policersphantom queuestoken bucketscongestion control algorithmnetwork traffictraffic shapersqueue sizerate thresholdsnetwork providers
Authors
Ammar Tahir
Abstract
We describe details of a formal framework to study the interaction between traffic policers, implemented using phantom queues or token buckets, and any arbitrary congestion control algorithm (CCA). This framework allows network providers to figure out configurations for their traffic policers (phantom queue size, safe rate thresholds, etc.). We also use this framework to describe why CCAs interact differently with a traffic policer compared to traffic shapers.