Traffic jam...

Wertz

Just wondering if it's possible to cofigure my router in such a way that it will give priority to one device/program/app over all others.
To explain a bit better, I'm running a desktop (cabled) and a laptop (wireless) through a netgear router/dsl modem.
Now say I have bittorrent or another heavy bandwidth app running on the desktop but want to browse on the laptop minus the lag; is there a way I can configure the connection to give the laptop traffic priority?
Obviously the simpler the better, but I'm willing to take some time to get this right.

Mods if this isn't the right forum feel free to move it.
As usual, all help much appreciated...

Capt'n Midnight

net comms would be a better one.

the answer is - it depends on the OS and router you use
if you are using a high end Cisco then nay bother
or if you were using linux you could set priorities in it

If you are running windows then you could setup SquidNT as a local proxy and apply bandwidth limiting with it.

Snowbat

If not included in the current features, there may be a 3rd party firmware available if the router runs Linux.

Sveasoft, most well known for their replacement firmware for Linksys WRT54G, include Wondershaper in the basic release, and "Two-way bandwidth management (includes P2P, VoIP, IM)" in the subscription version. They are working on a new firmware for Linksys, Belkin, Buffalotech, and several more manufacturers.

At least one of the Netgear routers runs Linux but as YOUR Netgear's model number is TOP SECRET, you can do your own research

Wertz

Snowbat wrote:

At least one of the Netgear routers runs Linux but as YOUR Netgear's model number is TOP SECRET, you can do your own research

Yeah I neglected to mention that but your link is it. Both comps on network running Xp sp2.
So you're saying if I flash the router with 3rd party firmware I can then control the traffic. Know how much control you get or how user friendly it is?

Snowbat

I found this for DG834G but I didn't see anything that includes includes bandwidth management so far.

I have a WRT54G (selected because it runs Linux and has 3rd party firmwares with useful features) but I haven't got around to trying the Sveasoft or openwrt.org firmwares yet.

Mutant_Fruit

I have the Linksys WRT54G aswell, and have the bandwidth managing features as supplied by the HyperWRT firmware. I have yet to test it, but it looks pretty good alright. You can prioritise based on port OR by mac address, so you could give your laptop high priority for everything.