Four measurement algorithms for flow enforcement in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks are presented. The algorithms are the leaky bucket, the rectangular sliding window, the triangular sliding window, and the exponentially weighted moving average. A comparison, based partly on teletraffic theory and partly on signal processing theory, is carried out. It is seen that the time constant involved increases with the increasing burstiness of the connection. It is suggested that the RMS measurement bandwidth be used to dimension linear algorithms for equal flow enforcement characteristics. Implementations are proposed on the block diagram level, and dimensioning examples are carried out when flow enforcing a renewal-type connection using the four algorithms. The corresponding hardware demands are estimated aid compared. >