Traffic policing, traffic shaping, and interface-based rate limiting can control the traffic rate to improve network resource utilization and service stability.
Network congestion may occur when the transmit rate is higher than the receive rate or the interface rate on a downstream device is lower than the interface rate on an upstream device. If the rate at which users send traffic is not limited, continuous traffic bursts from many users may cause network congestion. Therefore, user traffic rates must be limited so that services remain stable even in scenarios where network resources are limited.
Traffic policing, traffic shaping, and interface-based rate limiting are mechanisms to monitor and control traffic rates and resource usage.
Traffic policing monitors and controls the rate at which traffic enters a network and discards excess traffic, thereby conserving network resources.
Traffic shaping adjusts the rate at which traffic is sent to reduce traffic bursts, thereby ensuring a stable transmission rate and preventing congestion on the downstream device.
Interface-based rate limiting controls the rate at which packets are sent or received on an interface. This mechanism is useful for limiting the rate of all traffic on an interface regardless of packet types.