One embodiment provides a network device. The network device includes a a processor including at least one processor core; a network interface configured to transmit and receive packets at a line rate; a memory configured to store a scheduler hierarchical data structure; and a scheduler module. The scheduler module is configured to prefetch a next active pipe structure, the next active pipe structure included in the hierarchical data structure, update credits for a current pipe and an associated subport, identify a next active traffic class within the current pipe based, at least in part, on a current pipe data structure, select a next queue associated with the identified next active traffic class, and schedule a next packet from the selected next queue for transmission by the network interface if available traffic shaping token bucket credits and available traffic class credits are greater than or equal to a next packet credits.