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.
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.