[ale] need help allocating / limiting broadband bandwidth between users

[Matt Hessel]

I have had the same issues myself.  Not sure exactly why, but seems to be
related to connection handling in the kernel.  Most of them are running an
older version of Linux, version 2.2 kernels, and a few on the 2.4 version.

There have been a lot of changes in the 2.6 and later versions for the
network stack, but the MIPS support sucks due to extensive rework in the
kernel for the proprietary driver blobs from broadcom.

I have had better performance from current forks of tomato firmware, if
there is one for your router, it might be worth a try.
On Jan 24, 2013 2:16 PM, "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <
atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I've got an interesting and frustrating problem here at home that I need
> help with.  My wife works at home using a Citrix connection.  Everything
> she does comes from a remote system.  I have several computers that I use
> here as well, some of which are periodically doing automated data transfers
> and backups, etc.  Periodically, she complains that her system is running
> so slow that it's unusable.  This is an intermittent problem.  Immediately
> after she mentioned it today, I connected to her wifi router and did a
> speed test.  I got .6 Mbps.  Typically, I get around 28 Mbps for downloads.
>  I switched her to my router and the problem went away.  Now, her system is
> blazing fast again.
>
> The routers are configured as follows.  This may or may not work as a text
> diagram.
>
> Old Setup
>
> Ron's wifi router (a) --->\
>                            Master wired router (c) ---> cable modem
> Wife's wifi router (b) -->/
>
> New Setup
>
> Wife's wifi router (a) -->\
>                            Master wired router (c) ---> cable modem
> Ron's wifi router (b) --->/
>
> Hopefully, if that diagram survives the email, you can see that she has a
> wifi router and I have one.  Both of those are connected to a master wired
> router that is connected to the cable modem which is connected to the
> internet.  Normally this works very well.  I like to keep her stuff and my
> stuff on separate networks.  You might think, from this description, that
> router (b) is failing.  And that is a possibility.  I'm prepared to replace
> router (b) if I have to.  However, I'm not convinced.  I rebooted router
> (b) and did a speed test and it's back up in the 28 Mbps range again.
>
> I'm wondering if router (c) is getting confused during times when both (a)
> and (b) are putting heavy demands on the link and trying to send / receive
> more data in aggregate than the link is capable of.  If it's a problem of
> bandwidth hogging by my stuff, I'd rather just curtail that and make sure
> that her stuff has at least, for example, 3 Mbps up / 6 Mbps down at all
> times.  All the routers are NetGear equipment.  The wifi routers have QOS
> settings that I've tried to tweak in the past to address this type of
> problem.  I haven't had much success with that.  The wired master router
> does not have QOS settings.  I have set up a 3 Mbps upstream bandwidth
> limit on my router, but I don't have any option to limit downstream
> bandwidth.  My total upstream capacity is about 6 Mbps.
>
> I need to stick with off the shelf equipment here.  I could replace the
> master router (c) if needed, or stick something in between my router and
> the master router to limit my maximum bandwidth if necessary.  I would be
> willing to reflash a router's firmware if necessary, but I have to have
> something that resets automatically in case of a power failure.  I don't
> really want to be running another pc just for this purpose.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
> --
>
> (To whom it may concern.  My email address has changed.  Replying to former
> messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong
> address.  Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)
>
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new email messages very
> quickly.)
>
> Ron Frazier
> 770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>
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