Methods and apparatus for avoidance of remote display packet buffer overflow

Abstract

The present invention manages memory buffers in a computer network system. In one embodiment, a managing system on a thin client unit modifies an amount of central processing unit (CPU) resource on the thin client unit that is granted to a server application (e.g., a X server application). The modification is based on a function of how many network information packets are in a packet queue of the thin client unit. By dropping the amount of CPU resource granted lower and lower as the queue gets more and more full, the server application reduces the rate at which it sends commands, thus giving the thin client unit the opportunity to catch up in processing the commands already in the queue. When the number of packets in the queue passes a high critical threshold, the granted CPU resource is dropped to zero, effectively shutting off the server application. Accordingly, the above embodiment makes sure that the thin client unit is kept as busy as possible because the throttling of the granted CPU resource occurs only when there is an overabundance of work waiting to be done, and the embodiment avoids packet queue overflow by slowing down and eventually stopping the flow of packets from the server application to the thin client unit.