A method and system for controlling a plurality of pipes in a computer network, including at least one processor for a switch, the at least one processor having a queue, the plurality of pipes utilizing the queue for transmitting traffic through the switch, wherein each pipe is assigned a priority ranking class, each class has a unique priority rank with respect to each of the other classes, the ranks ranging from a highest priority rank to a lowest priority rank. A transmission probability is calculated for each pipe responsive to its priority rank. If excess bandwidth exists for the queue, the transmission probability of each pipe is linearly increased. Alternatively, if excess bandwidth does not exist, the transmission probability for each pipe is exponentially decreased. Packets are transferred from a pipe to the queue responsive to the pipe transmission probability and priority rank.