SWITCHING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TRAFFIC POLICING OVER A NETWORK

A flow of information over a network is controlled by a policing function placed at a data link layer of the network. For a full-duplex architecture, an accumulated count value for each packet of information received as input by a switching device is ascertained during a predetermined interval. The policin g function at a data link layer determines if the accumulated count value has exceeded an interval bit rate based on a transmission rate set by a traffic contract at a networking layer higher than the data link layer. In response to the accumulated count value exceeding the interval bit rate, the switching device sends a PAUSE frame to halt transmission of the information. The half - duplex architecture, collision based backpressure and carrier-sense backpressure techniques are used by the policing function for enforcement of the traffic contracts.