What is the difference between policing and shaping?
A. The following diagram illustrates the key difference. Traffic shaping retains excess packets in a queue and then schedules the excess for later transmission over increments of time. The result of traffic shaping is a smoothed packet output rate. In contrast, traffic policing propagates bursts. 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. For more information, refer to Policing and Shaping Overview.
