The enforcement period affects how the QoS scheduler operates. In general, a short period results in many small bursts of traffic, whilst a long period results in fewer, larger bursts of traffic.

For example, if the maximum burst size is 1MB and the period is 20 milliseconds, then up to 1MB of traffic can be sent every 20 milliseconds.

policy

This keyword exists for 'organizational' purposes only, to structure the configuration path for relevant command strings.

qos

This keyword exists for 'organizational' purposes only, to structure the configuration path for relevant command strings.

name <policy-name>

Specifies the name of a QoS policy.

shaper

This keyword exists for 'organizational' purposes only, to structure the configuration path for relevant command strings.

profile <profile-name>

The name of a QoS profile.

In policy qos name <policy-name> shaper profile <profile-name>, the profile name is always a local QoS profile. Configurations paths that have this root define a local QoS profile.

In policy qos name <policy-name> shaper default <profile-name> or policy qos name <policy-name> shaper class <class-number> profile <profile-name> the profile name can be either a local or global QoS profile name. A configuration path that has either of these roots references a QoS profile that is defined either locally or globally.

period <number>

The enforcement period, in milliseconds.

This attribute determines how often the QoS scheduler checks for packets that are waiting to be sent. With a small enforcement period, the QoS scheduler checks more often — and will therefore send traffic in smaller blocks, more often. With a large enforcement period, the QoS scheduler checks less often — and may therefore send traffic in larger blocks, less often.