This Counter64 counts frames that were already marked DE (Discard Eligible) upon arrival and were then discarded outright at this ingress point for exceeding the traffic contract, distinguishing loss specifically among already-flagged traffic from the general circuitInFramesDiscard total. Since DE frames are the ones networks are designed to sacrifice first, a rising count here during congestion is expected and less concerning than a rising circuitInFramesDiscard count that includes non-DE (contract-compliant) frames being dropped. For example, if this counter and circuitInFramesDiscard rise together and by similar amounts, most of the loss is happening among traffic that was already flagged as expendable, which is the traffic-shaping system working as designed.