[Help] Manage Bandwith across Computers on a Network / Set up QoS .

[majithia23]

Need some intelligent help guys .

How do you or can we manage bandwith across various PC's and devices connected across one network .:think:

Eg ---

A typical home set up . One Modem cum Router has connected to it -- 2 PC's via LAN , 2 via WiFi and 2 Smart phones again on WiFi .

6 ( or may be any number ) devices in one network on 1 bandwith .

Now how to make sure that at any given time , all the devices can enjoy their equal share of bandwith . :think:

Nothing special , but i just want that when ever some one wants to connect to the internet on his device in the network , he can , and then do the basic stuff like surf and e-mail .

And this should be regardless of the fact that whether the other person(s) somewhere in the network is torrenting or is skyping !

Meaning , in other words , one device should not max out the bandwith and leave the other PC's crying out for even few bits .

Eg -

If my bro starts torrents on his cellphone or another PC , every other PC goes dry and dead .

If dad starts youtube , mum's cell goes slow !

So what do you guys do to escape this !

I know about QoS , but just its full name and thats it .

I tried configuring the QoS in my Router , but hell i cannot make out a single word of what the settings page says .

Please give it a look and kindly tell and help me out in understanding and configuring it ---

I think it has to be a quite issue in todays 'Modern' homes :P

So how to deal with this ....!

[DKT27]

Off topic. Looks like our router's interface match (exactly). :)

No idea about QoS either. All feels complicated a little.

[ck_kent]

@majithia23: It might disappoint you, but I think you should probably read these:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r26139146-QOS-Settings-Explanation-TP-Link-TD-W8961ND-

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2181595

:)

[majithia23]

@ck

Thanks for the links .

And , i too stumbled across these same links while googling after i posted the topic here .

And more over this guy "diegotimmy" , the OP in these above threads in fact posted the same topic across some other forums also .

But nothing came out .

So , i still stand on ground zero , dont know a thing more or less about managing this issue .

What i stand to infer from present limited reading and searching , is that unless you have some expensive hardware , you cannot manage this issue

and

QoS in stock routers is just an eyewash and it does not work . ( this is hard to digest . it must do something when properly configured ! )

But , there must be something that can be done .

Other than arriving on a mutual understanding with the other users to Share the bandwith honestly ! :P

Like can we not give priority to one MAC ? :think:

One protocol :think:

I dont know !

or

Is this thing something we have to live with .

A tacit compromise ! :mellow:

( this has to be a common issue with the so easy availability of portable smart devices which always want internet connectivity and with multiple devices in one house hold .... so , .....! )

@D

Thanks for the confirming post .

Same firmware and you also dont know anything ! :P

[LeetPirate]

Hey, sorry I can't post more details right now. I bricked a Captivate and losing sleep and trying in vain to revive it. :(

What you need is an application layer firewall, also called layer 7 firewall. From your settings it looks like your router has this feature but the names of all the settings you need to research to know what they actually do. The only place I have used an application layer is on dd-wrt router but the configuration is easier, all I do is put port range and give it a priority then assign a name to the rule. You could try selecting an application from your list, entering the port range 1024 to 65535 (source and destination) then look for a way to assign it low priority. It might work even with some of the options empty. I'm not sure how you can confirm it is working but possibly wireshark may be needed.

If it does not work, see if you could get your hands on an Asus RT-N12 router to connect to your modem. The Asus firmware has a very nice implementation of QoS that works. You also have the option of installing Tomato or dd-wrt firmware on that router. In my experience Tomato is better than dd-wrt when it comes to QoS because dd-wrt builds always seem to break QoS functionality often.

[Adrean]

if I learned anything from reading about QoS, it's this - how much you request from the server is how much you receive (doesn't matter if it's http, bt, etc.). If you know a way to control outgoing requests from the router level, you might not even need to impose incoming limits.

Example:

[ck_kent]

@majithia23, from the looks of your router's QOS settings, there really isn't any bandwidth management going on. It will really depend on your ISP if it will respect the markings you set in the QOS configuration. But most (if not all) ISPs don't. You could ask your ISP if they do QOS, play around the settings, or you could use another router and just bridge your existing one.

Although I haven't tried it yet, the ASUS routers seem to have the type of QOS settings you want that you can configure easily. But some say they really don't work either. The plus side is you can replace its stock firmware with DD-WRT or Tomato.

Like LeetPirate said, Tomato's QOS seems to work better than DD-WRT.

Here's a link and more info about Tomato's QOS:

http://tomatousb.org/tut:using-tomato-s-qos-system

Another link from Toastman on his actual experience and work with Tomato:

http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/using-qos-tutorial-and-discussion.28349/

[shought]

QoS within the network has nothing to do with the ISP ;)

@m23

We can assume that the smartphone's won't abuse the network (they rarely generate any 'real' bandwidth consumption, aside from when apps might be updated). You could therefore try installing something like NetLimiter on all PCs and rate limit them to 1/2 or 1/3 of the bandwidth (because again, even though you have 4 PCs we can assume not all 4 of them will be using their full bandwidth allowance at the same time).

[ck_kent]

@shought, you're right, in the context of "within the network." ;)

Actually, smartphones can abuse the network. People can install a bittorrent client and use their smartphones/tablets to download and hog the bandwidth.

@majithia23, you can also try shought's suggestion, but you wouldn't have to install a software on each computer if you can't. There are cheap routers like TP-Link that does limit a bandwidth per IP or MAC. You'll just have to enter the maximum download and upload speeds for each IP or MAC. Again, you'll have to bridge your old router to use this approach. :)

[LeetPirate]

The router based QoS from Tomato or dd-wrt is a most powerful solution that works consistently good without having to mess with it after the initial setup. Adrean is correct in his statement that you need to control outgoing requests and this is exactly how QoS works, it queues your outgoing packets based on priority. Beyond that it also helps to have a good congestion control system, Tomato and dd-wrt both make use of TCP Vegas congestion control by default and it works best among residential class routers. I have been using a system like this for many years and it has never failed me, I exclude my own mac address from being filtered but every other device on my network is handled by QoS and everyone can surf the net even with others running torrents.

[majithia23]

@Leet ( you and android dont go together ! :P )

Well thanks for the reply .

So going by your words , my best bet is to get a router which supports Tomato or DD-Wrt and then configure the QoS to achieve what i am wanting here . :think:

And this is what you have been successfully doing ... ( .... well , thats reassuring ! )

Actually my ISP just upgraded my router to this TP-Link modem cum router . Its actually quite good . Very good range and a stable connection .

And i also read that when extending the network with additional hardware , we should probably go for the hardware of the same company to ensure a better seamless connectivity and avoid any issues .

And i dont think there is any router in TP-Link range that supports Tomato or DD-Wrt . :dunno:

Or is it possible to flash either of these two on my existing Modem / Router ...... :think:

And , can you please tell , as to what is the Source and what is the Destination in these settings ?

The PC or the Modem .?

@Adrean

"If you know a way to control outgoing requests from the router level, you might not even need to impose incoming limits."

So by these outgoing requests you mean , the data that is exiting from the router towards a PC or a connected device ??

I mean then the Inbound Rules imply to the incoming data from the ISP ??

A lil info in detail would be helpful .... :)

And which firmwares capture is this . Looks as if it does give a quite granular control ......

@shought

Thanks for the advice mate . I just did that a few days back . Netlimiter installed . Although yes it does work this way when dealing with the issue around laptops and PCs ( although i would love the PC to have full bandwith rather than a strangulated one ... ) ,

but as @ck pointed out -- Actually, smartphones can abuse the network. People can install a bittorrent client and use their smartphones/tablets to download and hog the bandwidth.--- Thats when the trouble starts !

@ck

There are cheap routers like TP-Link that does limit a bandwidth per IP or MAC. You'll just have to enter the maximum download and upload
speeds for each IP or MAC. Again, you'll have to bridge your old router to use this approach.

you know of any model of TP-Link that does offer this feature ?

And can anybody please give a lil description as to what does these short forms mean ---

IGMP

SIP

H.323

MGCP

SNMP

DNS

DHCP

SIP

RSTP

RTCP

RTP

These are in the drop down menu of the application button . ( see the first attached capture )

Nothing in detail , but can some one guide which application from these should be given priority and which should be lowered ? :think:

Say , if HTTP service is to be given priority then , what should be selected and what will be the port range of it ?

What is destination IP ?

Source IP ?

A lil push towards the right direction will be helpful and appreciated ! :)

[DKT27]

I always wondered if it was possible to flash ADSL modem/routers. Something like Tomato, but not for routers, for modem/routers.

[ck_kent]

@majithia23, the TP-Link TL-WR740N (150Mbps) and TP-Link TL-WR841N (300Mbps) can do that. You can also visit its emulator page to see what the configuration page looks like. This page lists all the emulators available for their devices.

@DKT27, I'm not sure if they support modem/router but you can check the DD-WRT's router database and Tomato's compatibility table if they support it.