HIERARCHICAL RATE LIMITING WITH PROPORTIONAL LIMITING

A network flow controller to manage network traffic bandwidth is described. Embodiments of the network flow controller include a hierarchical flow creditor, a proportional flow creditor, and a rate limiter. The hierarchical flow creditor is configured to manage a plurality of hierarchical credit accounts. The hierarchical credit accounts include a shared credit account associated with a plurality of distinct network traffic flows for a shared bandwidth resource. The proportional flow creditor is configured to track an oversubscription of the shared bandwidth resource by the plurality of distinct network traffic flows. The rate limiter is coupled to the hierarchical flow creditor and the proportional flow creditor. The rate limiter is configured to limit at least one of the distinct network traffic flows based on the oversubscription tracked by the proportional flow creditor.