ɪn ɹˈaʊɾɚz ænd swˈɪtʃᵻz, ˈæktɪv kjˈuː mˈænɪdʒmənt ˌeɪkjˌuːˈɛm ɪz ðə pˈɑːlɪsi ʌv dɹˈɑːpɪŋ pˈækɪts ɪnsˈaɪd ɐ bˈʌfɚɹ ɐsˈoʊsɪˌeɪɾᵻd wɪð ɐ nˈɛtwɜːk ˈɪntɚfˌeɪs kəntɹˈoʊlɚ ˌɛnˌaɪsˈiː bᵻfˌoːɹ ðæt bˈʌfɚ bɪkˌʌmz fˈʊl, ˈɔfən wɪððə ɡˈoʊl ʌv ɹᵻdˈuːsɪŋ nˈɛtwɜːk kəndʒˈɛstʃən ɔːɹ ɪmpɹˈuːvɪŋ ˈɛndtʊˈɛnd lˈeɪtənsi.
In routers and switches, active queue management (AQM) is the policy of dropping packets inside a buffer associated with a network interface controller (NIC) before that buffer becomes full, often with the goal of reducing network congestion or improving end-to-end latency.