srr-queue bandwidth shape/share

I found a good NetPro discussion regarding whether to shape or share with the srr-queue bandwidth command.  The last post in the discussion links to the 3750 configuration guide - the configuring QoS section where the default settings are shown, and more information about which queue is for what is clearly presented.


Excerpt from the Catalyst 3750 Switch Software Configuration Guide, 12.2(50)SE:

SRR Shaping and Sharing

Both the ingress and egress queues are serviced by SRR, which controls the rate at which packets are sent. On the ingress queues, SRR sends packets to the stack ring. On the egress queues, SRR sends packets to the egress port.

You can configure SRR on egress queues for sharing or for shaping. However, for ingress queues, sharing is the default mode, and it is the only mode supported.

In shaped mode, the egress queues are guaranteed a percentage of the bandwidth, and they are rate-limited to that amount. Shaped traffic does not use more than the allocated bandwidth even if the link is idle. Shaping provides a more even flow of traffic over time and reduces the peaks and valleys of bursty traffic. With shaping, the absolute value of each weight is used to compute the bandwidth available for the queues.

In shared mode, the queues share the bandwidth among them according to the configured weights. The bandwidth is guaranteed at this level but not limited to it. For example, if a queue is empty and no longer requires a share of the link, the remaining queues can expand into the unused bandwidth and share it among them. With sharing, the ratio of the weights controls the frequency of dequeuing; the absolute values are meaningless. Shaping and sharing is configured per interface. Each interface can be uniquely configured.

Shaped or Shared Mode

SRR services each queue-set in shared or shaped mode. You assign shared or shaped weights to the port by using the srr-queue bandwidth share weight1 weight2 weight3 weight4 or the srr-queue bandwidth shape weight1 weight2 weight3 weight4interface configuration commands. For an explanation of the differences between shaping and sharing, see the "SRR Shaping and Sharing" section.

---

Note You cannot assign shaped weights on 10-Gigabit interfaces.

---

The buffer allocation together with the SRR weight ratios control how much data can be buffered and sent before packets are dropped. The weight ratio is the ratio of the frequency in which the SRR scheduler sends packets from each queue.

All four queues participate in the SRR unless the expedite queue is enabled, in which case the first bandwidth weight is ignored and is not used in the ratio calculation. The expedite queue is a priority queue, and it is serviced until empty before the other queues are serviced. You enable the expedite queue by using the priority-queue out interface configuration command.

You can combine the commands described in this section to prioritize traffic by placing packets with particular DSCPs or CoSs into certain queues, by allocating a large queue size or by servicing the queue more frequently, and by adjusting queue thresholds so that packets with lower priorities are dropped. For configuration information, see the "Configuring Egress Queue Characteristics" section.

---

Note The egress queue default settings are suitable for most situations. You should change them only when you have a thorough understanding of the egress queues and if these settings do not meet your QoS solution.