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| 8.4 |  | Policing and Marking |
| 8.4.1 |  | Policing and marking |

Traffic policing involves placing a constraint on the maximum traffic rate. When the traffic rate reaches the configured maximum rate, excess traffic is dropped or remarked. The result is an output rate that appears as a saw tooth with crests and troughs.

Policers define bandwidth limits for traffic. Packets that exceed the limits are said to be “out of profile” or nonconforming. Each policer specifies the action to take for packets that are in or out-of-profile. These actions, carried out by the “marker”, include passing the packet through the switch without modification, dropping the packet, or marking down the packet with a new DSCP value that is obtained from the configurable policed-DSCP map.