METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTED TRAFFIC SHAPING ACROSS A CLUSTER

A network is provided herein comprising a plurality of network resources, and at least one network cluster having a plurality of cluster members. Each member of the cluster may be configured for utilizing one or more of the network resources and for tracking usage thereof. For example, each member of the cluster may include one or more token buckets for tracking that member's usage of the network resources. At least one member of the cluster (i.e., a "reservation coordinator") may include a first set of computer-executable instructions for receiving network traffic destined for a particular network resource at a first rate (i.e., a maximum average sustained rate). In addition, the reservation coordinator may include a second set of computer-executable instructions for distributing the first rate among at least a subset of the cluster members. In some cases, each member of the cluster may include a third set of computer-executable instructions for changing how the first rate is distributed among members of the subset. For example, the third set of computer-executable instructions may include instructions for attempting to reserve a substantially larger or smaller portion of the first rate.