Message buffering for prioritized message transmission and congestion

Abstract

Message congestion and prioritization are effectively managed using a flexible approach that is easily implemented and configurable for different communications applications. A plurality of buffers are provided at a communications point with different buffers corresponding to different message priorities. The buffers may be, for example, first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffers. Messages to be transmitted from the communications point are processed to determine the priority of each message. Each message is stored in one of the plurality of buffers corresponding to its determined priority. Messages are transmitted starting from the highest priority buffer, continuing to the next priority buffer, and so forth. Each buffer includes a configurable size, congestion level, full level, and recovery level which are used to effectively manage transmission of messages in congested situations and to ensure that priority messages receive priority transmission.