Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 08:54:04 -0500 (EST) From: "Jonathan A. Zdziarski" <jonz@netrail.net> Subject: Re: Xedia vs Packeteer Comparsion [...] I was told that the xedia boxes only shape outgoing bandwidth, not incoming. ... [...]
This may be only a matter of what you call "outgoing" bandwidth. Any IP device only has control over how outgoing bandwidth is allocated (where "outgoing" is from the perspective of the device its self, _not_ in the sense of data "outgoing" from a local ISP to a national service provider). An IP device can only control how outgoing bandwidth is allocated by managing its outbound queues, for example deciding which packet to transmit next and which packet to drop next. The device has no control (in the absence of some sort of QoS request or QoS support from the [e.g., ATM] network) over how incoming bandwidth is allocated; all the device can do is receive the next packet that is sent to it on the line. -tjs