Network traffic control
Encyclopedia
In computer networking, network traffic control is the process of managing, prioritising, controlling or reducing the network traffic, particularly Internet bandwidth
, used by network administrators, to reduce congestion
, latency
and packet loss
. This is part of bandwidth management
. In order to use these tools effectively, it is necessary to measure the network traffic
to determine the causes of network congestion and attack those problems specifically.
and viruses
can use a lot of network bandwidth, and are normally prevented or fixed by applying the appropriate operating system patches.
Windows machines in particular require many patches, and downloading them also uses much bandwidth. This can be reduced by centralising updates with the Windows Server Update Services
. Usually a Windows machine is left running 24 hours a day and regularly checked for available updates, which must be selected to be deployed to the other machines on the network.
Antivirus software is not essential to bandwidth management, although it can help to control network worms
. It may also use significant bandwidth to download updates. Most good antivirus software has systems for corporate use, designed to download updates automatically onto one computer and deploy them across the network, but they are often not easy to use, and sometimes expensive.
available for the downloads, and prioritising web traffic over downloads. The Linux
and BSD open source
operating system
s have such features built in.
Bandwidth (computing)
In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
, used by network administrators, to reduce congestion
Network congestion
In data networking and queueing theory, network congestion occurs when a link or node is carrying so much data that its quality of service deteriorates. Typical effects include queueing delay, packet loss or the blocking of new connections...
, latency
Lag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
and packet loss
Packet loss
Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data travelling across a computer network fail to reach their destination. Packet loss is distinguished as one of the three main error types encountered in digital communications; the other two being bit error and spurious packets caused due to noise.-...
. This is part of bandwidth management
Bandwidth management
Bandwidth management is the process of measuring and controlling the communications on a network link, to avoid filling the link to capacity or overfilling the link, which would result in network congestion and poor performance of the network.- Management :Bandwidth management mechanisms may be...
. In order to use these tools effectively, it is necessary to measure the network traffic
Network traffic measurement
In computer networks, network traffic measurement is the process of measuring the amount and type of traffic on a particular network. This is especially important with regard to effective bandwidth management.- Tools :...
to determine the causes of network congestion and attack those problems specifically.
Patches
It is very important to keep computers up to date with security fixes. WormsComputer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
and viruses
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
can use a lot of network bandwidth, and are normally prevented or fixed by applying the appropriate operating system patches.
Windows machines in particular require many patches, and downloading them also uses much bandwidth. This can be reduced by centralising updates with the Windows Server Update Services
Windows Server Update Services
- External links :* * * – contains many detailed documents on WSUS operation, known issues, and troubleshooting* - German WSUS-Community * - Control installation of WSUS updates from command line...
. Usually a Windows machine is left running 24 hours a day and regularly checked for available updates, which must be selected to be deployed to the other machines on the network.
Antivirus software is not essential to bandwidth management, although it can help to control network worms
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
. It may also use significant bandwidth to download updates. Most good antivirus software has systems for corporate use, designed to download updates automatically onto one computer and deploy them across the network, but they are often not easy to use, and sometimes expensive.
Traffic Shaping
Traffic shaping can help to ensure that large downloads don't interfere with the speed of Web access, by restricting the bandwidthRate limiting
In computer networks, rate limiting is used to control the rate of traffic sent or received on a network interface. Traffic that is less than or equal to the specified rate is sent, whereas traffic that exceeds the rate is dropped or delayed...
available for the downloads, and prioritising web traffic over downloads. The Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and BSD open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s have such features built in.
Quotas
Universities and other shared networks often allocate a quota of bandwidth to each user, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. This helps to reduce excessive usage, such as constant high usage, while still allowing fast network performance for occasional users.Tools for implementing and monitoring bandwidth quotas
- Squid Proxy can implement quotas for proxied traffic
- SandvineSandvineSandvine Incorporated , in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Sandvine network policy control products are designed to implement broad network policies, ranging from service creation, billing, congestion management, and security...
offers hardware platforms targeted at internet service providers to implement traffic shaping policies.