Hey all, I think I should explain the setup I have before I ask this question. Basically it looks like this... All PCs are connected using Ethernet cables and modem is connected via a network adapter. Currently the internet is shared using ICS and a network bridge and works fine. All computers are running Windows XP. Now for the question. I was wondering if anyone knew of piece of software that did the job of softperfect’s Bandwidth Manager that was free. If not then is there some way to perform a similar function built into Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. When I have asked elsewhere I was told to use a Proxy server but the ones I have downloaded shape the bandwidth on the adapter as a whole rather than shaping the traffic that runs through it. What I need to be able to do is limit the access to the internet but not the network as a whole, it is also important that I limit the upload as well as the download. I’m loathed to spend £50 on a program without exhausting all the options. Thanks Robbie
BUY. A. ROUTER. Good day. And your picture is busted, btw. Actually, a router won't let you limit speed, it'll let you limit where they can go, what they can do, and what times they can do it.
hey, thanks for that insightfull piece of information but, if im not gona buy a £50 piece of software what makes u think im gona buy a router? i mean realy i didnt ask what i could use to limit access and content, i asked about bandwidth limitation, if anyone can make a constructive piont ive been working on this 4 a while and im @ a loose end any help greatly appriciated. Robbie P.S. if you right click on the broken link icon and select 'view image' it will link u to the image.
So... You don't want to spend the equivelent of $100 US on software, I figured $30/us, 15 pounds, might be a little more reasonable. Besides, you'd be able to recapture the original box as a usable computer and stop using it as a router, unless running 2 or 3 nic's is what you really, REALLY want to be doing. The router also gives you the opportunity to block things like video/pics/whatever, I was thinking that might help your bandwidth issue. You must either have very, very little downstream or a REAL problem w/ bandwidth leeching on the tier 2 computers. The only really good solution I can see to your issue is to turn the original computer into a straight up *nix idiot server box, and use the server-level software that comes w/ your favorite linux flavor to allocate your bandwidth. http://help-site.com/c.m/linux/networking/ Of course, one ghetto fix could be to go into the network properties for the tier 2 computers, and gimp down the TX speed for the card, which may or may not be an option on that particular nic. I can't turn this one down below 10mbits, but I know that you can turn some down to 1mbit. This is probably also an option w/i the router of your choice, but apparently you'd prefer to have network cable and nic's spread all over the place, so good luck w/ that. You could also refer to this conversation regarding configuring a proxy server, which I didn't even think about but should be easy: http://www.codeguru.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-291754.html http://www.youngzsoft.net/ccproxy/ http://www.bandwidthcontroller.com/limit-kazaa-bandwidth.html There, is that more helpful?
