The amount of software on the average computer
that wants to access the internet for updates or because it requires internet
access to function is growing all the time. Unless you have a super fast
internet connection, when you have something that requires a lot of bandwidth,
it will often slow other things down that are also using the internet. For
instance, downloading files through a web browser and playing an online game at
the same time could limit the game’s performance and make it nearly unplayable
with high pings because the browser is hogging the bandwidth leaving very
little for the game.
The best way to get round this
problem is to limit the internet download speed for the web browser process so
that it doesn’t hog the connection. Certain types of applications such as
download managers or bit-torrent clients often have some form of maximum upload
or download rate setting so as not to flood the connection and let things like
web browsers or Skype work OK without too much problem. Most other types of
program that access the internet do not have a similar function though.
A solution to this problem is to
limit the Internet bandwidth by using traffic shaping software so you can
prioritize which applications can access as much of the connection as they
like, while others will have to wait until it’s available. Software such as NetLimiter, cFosSpeed, Net-Peeker and
SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager are good for this task but sadly they’re
shareware. There are some free tools around that can help, here’s a few for you
to look at.
NetBalancer is an internet traffic tool that’s
been designed to give full control over the priorities of the applications and
processes running on your computer. You can use NetBalancer to set a download
or upload transfer rate priority for any application and also monitor its
internet traffic.
NetBalancer
Applying bandwidth limit
There are a couple of ways in which you can limit
the traffic that each application uses. One is to do what most download
managers and torrent clients do which is set a specific number for the download
or upload rates. While this method works, it isn’t dynamic because if you set
the download rate on your browser to 100 KB/s while gaming, when you finish
gaming more bandwidth will be free but the download will still be 100 KB/s
unless you manually change it. NetBalancer has another more efficient way of
limiting the traffic by setting priorities for your applications. This means
that programs with the highest priority have first option on the bandwidth, but
if they don’t need it, those with a lower priority can use it when available.
After setting your required priorities and
limits, you can see what is going on with the help of several useful features.
NetBalancer can show all system processes with their in and out traffic speed,
total downloaded and uploaded traffic for any process, a live traffic chart and
information on all process active connections. Rules can also be created where
you can configure the limits for specific times or date ranges and there’s also
a separate live traffic window/tray icon.
The free version of NetBalancer is limited to 3
process priorities/limits at a time and 3 different rules can be configured
which should be adequate for average use. If you want to go over that limit,
you will need to register the full version at a price of $29.95. It works on
Window 2000 to 8.
As the name suggests, Traffic Shaper XP is
another traffic shaping application but has some quite advanced options
compared to NetBalancer, but this also puts it at a disadvantage because
setting up rules that limit the traffic are more difficult and less user
friendly to configure.
Limiting Bandwidth with Traffic Shaper XP
Traffic Shaper XP doesn’t list running processes
so you can’t just click on a program and set the limit or priority. Instead you
need to know in advance the port being used by the program and manually run the
Add Rule Wizard, or monitor the live traffic in the lower half of the program’s
window and right click on it to create a matching rule.
When going through the wizard you can select
which network adapter, direction (upload or download), Upload/download speed to
limit, port, IP address and the priority of the rule. A useful function of
Traffic Shaper XP is after you’ve created a rule, you can close the program and
it will still continue to shape your internet bandwidth. It will continue to
control your internet traffic in background.
Traffic Shaper XP does have a couple of issues,
one of which is it doesn’t officially support Windows Vista, 7 or 8 although it
did seem to function OK when tested in Windows 7 32-bit. Another problem is the
limitations placed on this free version such as a maximum of 5 rules, support
for the TCP protocol only and the fact it can shape up to 3,687 kb/s and no
more.
3. Shunra Nimbus
This is a very simple tool to use with only really one option to configure, but be aware that Shunra Nimbus is NOT compatible with any operating system above Windows XP and will likely cause a crash Vista or 7.
Applying Speed Limit with Shunra Nimbus
It works slightly different to the tools above
because Nimbus will restrict the bandwidth system wide so is perhaps more
useful if you want to restrict one system while gaming or downloading on
another which uses the same internet connection. The one available option is to
select the bandwidth speed that you want to limit and then you click Play. It
has settings from 14.4 to 256. These numbers are calculated at kilobits per
second and not Kilobytes so you divide the number by 8. Therefore 256 means
you’re capping the Internet at 32 KB/s which is obviously very slow by today’s
standards. Exiting the program will return traffic to normal. Shunra Nimbus is
no longer available or listed at the official website.
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