Bandwidth throttling.

[pipme]

Why this Q?
BT have upgraded customers to 2Mb.. fine.
But an 'Intelligent Updater' virus update of 8.42 MB from Symantec downloads in seconds... Again this is great, but for normal surfing I am wondering if the speed brings it's own set of problems to the process ..

The question is how to control access speed?
Is there any decent, open access, Win bandwidth throttling software available? Is this the best means of slowing web access at a mouse click?
Win98se BT Speedtouch 330 USB Modem.

 

[Igorian]

What sort of problems did you have in mind?

 

[pipme]

The odd moment when - 'oops! didn't mean to do that' Or perhaps to deter kids from downloading huge files...
... Yes I know there are other answers like don't do this / that.
The Q remains how to control web access speed at the PC ... Can it be done simply?
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This perhaps? DCS could be in trouble - have suddenly stopped support for TDS-3.. No warning.



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Oh well, thought I would ask ...

 

[Igorian]

We waited years for broadband to come along, and now you want to slow it down.

No pleasing some people

 

[pipme]

Have a throttle on car, don't run flat out.. not all the time anyway !

What if, 3 pc's were networked, how would one control, or set maximum 'bandwidth' to two of them ie. main mc controls/reduces web speed to other two.
?

 

[2scoops0406]

You can do it, i.e prioritise traffic, but it the only method I've seen is done at the router level. I doubt that your router will have such capabilities. You can't do it with in built ICS, and I don't know of any other product that is available for XP that allows you to do this.

 

[Igorian]

I agree with Ed. I can't think of a product to do this. Cars/broadband, hmm not a very good comparison. BB, quicker the better

 

[pipme]

Ok chaps, sort of getting there ..... Tis a start !
Could play a tune on the old download manager with this ...

But not the solution for a network ... I shall persevere.

 

[pipme]

...SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is a full-featured traffic management tool for Windows that offers cost-effective bandwidth control and quality of service based on built-in prioritized rules. These rules can specify a bandwidth limit for each Internet user. This kind of software often called bandwidth shaper, bandwidth limiter or traffic shaper. With SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager, you can apply speed-throttling rules to specified IP addresses, ports and even network interfaces with no changes to existing network infrastructure. The rich feature set of SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is easily managed via the intuitive Windows GUI.
The software requires Windows NT/2000/XP/2003. It also requires a network connection which could be a wireless connection or a modem that conforms to the NDIS standard.
There are two editions of SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager standard and lite.....

The cheapo Speedtouch 330 Modem is to Network Driver Interface Spec-5 ... Which conforms to the requirement above, I guess.
SoftPerfect's Lite costs $35 .... Could be the biz, well, the only stuff I could find anyway !

 

[2scoops0406]

But generally you'll be using the same socket i.e HTTP (80) or perhaps 443 SSL or am I missing the point?

 

[pipme]

Thinking if 3 PC's networked, I imagine the main one with internet connection will 'serve' the other two ... Would that software not enable yours truly at the master helm to deploy suitable bandwidth to the sproggery .. Otherwise twill be movies 'n music and I shudder to think what else ... with yours truly pretty soon out of the monthly 15GB comms' limit.
Sprogs have been happy with dial-up on the one machine, 'til BB hit the village .... Just may be better to network and throttle (the bandwidth for starters!!) Could give them around 60KB / sec each and retain 100KB / sec for the main rig........ Does this sound feasible? Even a little sensible given the ISP limitations and the probable necessity for some control?

 

[2scoops0406]

By networked together, I'm guessing you're using ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) I believe, that this is a form of NAT (Network Address Translation) which basically makes all the individual machines IP addresses (in your case) look like one, therefore I don't think attempting to throttle on the "server" is going to help as all traffic will appear to come from one machine, what you need is a programmable multiport router e.g. Cisco (expensive)

 

[pipme]

Nah ... At the rough ideas stage only.

The 'SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager' advert said :-

...The software monitors your network traffic and limits bandwidth in whatever manner you specify. ...... The lite edition is the right choice for home users or for office workstations while the standard edition is designed for servers and internet gateways and supports some advanced features.....

Suggests that the main machine can 'throttle' throughput to machines .. As I read it anyway...

 

[Igorian]

Yes, having looked at the docs, it suggests you can limit bandwidth to ip addresses. It means the serving machine will have to be on all the time for the others to work (ICS). Worth having a play with.

 

[2scoops0406]

But won't all the machines have the same IP address downstream of ICS ? i.e. NAT ??