US Patent 7761609 Socket level packet scheduling for connectionless protocols

A system for socket-level packet scheduling over connectionless network protocols includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory contains program instructions executable by the processor to implement an operating system including a packet scheduler for scheduling data transmissions via a connectionless network protocol. In response to a request from an application specifying one or more desired performance metrics for a data transfer via the connectionless network protocol, the packet scheduler is configured to schedule the data transfer in accordance with the one or more desired performance metrics.