Connection Sharing

Xcellor

OK. I have ADSL and it is shared on a LAN. The question I want to put to you all is what is the best way to actually *share* the connection. By that I mean, give each user on the lan a percentage of total bandwidth available.

At the moment if one computer is downloading it will consume 100% of the download available making online gaming at the same time impossible (unless of course it's turn based which my bro doesn't really go for ;P)

I don't want to go down the route of setting up a server because that's hassle but will consider it if it's my only option.

At the moment my set up is INTERNET - ADSL ROUTER - SWITCH - COMPUTERS. I allow the router to act as the gateway and DCHP server providing NAT to all computers on the LAN.

Ideally i would like to be able to turn it off the throttling easily,,, so if no one is using the connection I can have 100%.

I would like to split the bandwidth 512 in the proportions 35% 35% 15% 15% this is because my Brother and I are the ones that need the bandwidth the 15% is for browsing downloading email etc.

Suggestions welcomed...
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theothernt

Hi,

The Linksys WRT54G has QoS features (Quality of Service - ie. bandwidth limiting) when you upgrade to the latest firmware.

That said, this will only limit the bandwidth of the active connection and *not* the total amount downloaded. So, for example, you cannot divide up an 8GB cap between 4 PCs - but you can prioritise the 512 kbits/sec connection.

- Neil

padraigf

You could always install a program such as netlimiter on each pc and just cap their download speed to whatever you want.
www.netlimiter.com

It whines for you to register it though..... Must be some freeware alternative around.

Xcellor

padraigf wrote:

You could always install a program such as netlimiter on each pc and just cap their download speed to whatever you want.
www.netlimiter.com

It whines for you to register it though..... Must be some freeware alternative around.

Id rather not go down that route. I'd prefer something hardware implemented but I have the bog standard router that came with IOL BB so I doubt anything that advanced is available. A cost effective upgrade might be an idea.

I have no issues with the actual bandwidth consumed,,, for example donwload limits, it's simply the rate at which the information is downloaded. I wouldn't care if my brother for example left it on all night downloading because we never really get anywhere near 16gb.

Call me a control freak but if it's software on individual computers I can't really administer it effectively and my brother would never agree to anything installed on his computer that may effect his online gaming experience (personally i think 38kB is ample quota if they bring out the new 1mb connection,,, but he would disagree).

If I created a server and set my network up like

INTERNET - ADSL ROUTER - SERVER PC - SWITCH - OTHER COMPUTERS

Of course I would need two network cards on server PC (because i hate USB) but could I get some software that would then control the connections through that server PC?

Thanks for your suggestion Padraig but I would prefer a more centralised approach,

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Xcellor

In answer to my own question I guess a proxy server on the server PC would do the trick? I've never liked proxies too much as a solution because of having to set up ports which can be a headache. So ideally it would need NAT.

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padraigf

You might be able to find something uPNP compatible so that your ports are mapped automatically for u in most programs? I find uPNP quite handy. DirectX 9 does it, so does MSN, Azureus etc.

EDIT:
I'm sure theres some cut down versions of Linux designed solely for proxying,NAT etc. I've definitely heard of them before. They'd be your best man for the job without a doubt

theothernt

Hi,

If you wanted to go the Linux route, then try ...

http://www.coyotelinux.com/products.php?Product=coyote

I read about it in PCW Magazine a few months back. If your server is running Windows XP or Server 2003 then there is...

http://bandwidthcontroller.com/

- Neil

Xcellor

theothernt wrote:

Hi,

If you wanted to go the Linux route, then try ...

http://www.coyotelinux.com/products.php?Product=coyote

I read about it in PCW Magazine a few months back. If your server is running Windows XP or Server 2003 then there is...

http://bandwidthcontroller.com/

- Neil

Cheers neil. That bandwidth controller sounds just what I need.

I've used Linux before and it's something I woudl love to investigate further but currently I need a fast easy to integrate solution.

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