Way to Limit Someones Bandwidth or Internet Speed

Hi, as the topic states i need to know if there's a way to limit how fast or how much bandwidth a computer gets when we are all connected to the same router. So at night whenever my dad comes he, first thing he does is turn on his laptop and stream his ING shows online. It's one of those channel things he downloaded and it streams sports channels and shows from other countries, i don't know. But whats ing annoying about it is that it takes up ALL the bandwidth, normally it'd take less then a second for google to load up but when he's home it takes 10 seconds, no lies. It feels like dial-up speed. I can't surf the web or even play games cause I'd lag 100%.

I'm using a Linksys Router WRT54GR and there's 4 computers connected to it.

 

Who pays the bills for the ISP service?

 

I'm pretty sure he does, but still his program doesn't need to hog up all the bandwidth.

 

Then you might at least do him the courtesy of asking, first; all it takes is putting some thought into how to pitch it to him so you get a "why yes, son, go right ahead."

 

He's not intelligent enough to understand this whole bandwidth thing. He an a-hole anyways cause he has ESPN on, on the TV and he's barely watching his laptop.

 

Then it shouldn't be very difficult to ..., shall we say, couch your request in the right language so he goes along with what you're selling, should it?

 

That router should be compatible with DD-WRT or Tomato which should have bandwidth limitation features.

 

Well, it certainly doesn't appear to have an QoS settings that might be used.

 

Regardless of how you feel about your father, he bought the equipment and he pays the bills. All you can do is voice your concerns and hope he'll give you the OK to modify the router, or you can hope that he'll understand and ease up on the streaming content. If he doesn't, you are just out of luck. Under no circumstances should you just go ahead and alter his equipment. I'm certain I don't have to explain what could happen to you...

 

???

You telling me that DD-WRT and Tomato does not have QoS?

 

Yup, particularly if he's really the way the OP described him to be in post #5!

 

Nope; the router as it comes from Linksys doesn't have any QoS settings. I would assume that DD-WRT and Tomato both provide those settings.

 

DD-WRT does, i use it to limit the rest of my family to 512kbps max, while i hog the rest of the bandwidth. See here

DawnEclips: If you mess with the bandwidth, your dad might not be able to watch his TV shows properly. My guess is your internet bandwidth is maxed out.

What is your internet speed?

 

@Flipfire: did you mean that if the OP messed with the bandwidth his father "might be able to" or did you mean "might not be able to" watch his shows properly?

 

Woops yes i meant NOT be able to, cheers.

His stream might start skipping if theres not enough speed to buffer, when that happens he will be an angry chap.

 

Um when i do speed tests i get 9mb down and 500 KB up, the upload speed is the problem cause we only get 500 kb.

 

500 kiloBytes or 500 kilobits per second upload?

500 Kbits/s up is about typical for a lot of broadband services (although 9Mbits/sec down is a bit slow). What ISP do you have?

 

time warner cable. Its 500 kbps and thats max. Average around 480 i guess

 

9 Mbits/sec "a bit slow"!?!?!?!

How would that be too slow to stream a video while he plays a game?
I only have 3Mb and that is almost fine. I need more upload I only get 320Kb.
The fastest I can get is 6Mb with out going to cable which is very unreliable where I live.

I almost guarantee you it's because that router has no qos.

 

NETCUT
google it ........download.........choose the IP you would like stop from getting the whole bandwidth........

 

thanks guys i only have a 400mb Daily DL limit and this will surely help

 

Yah my router doesn't have Qos, I always thought that streaming videos was all about upload speeds.

 

I cant seem to find it, is there a link to download. I tried dd-wrt and tomato but those don't install easy

 

so you have to upload to watch a video on another server?

No

you download the video from that server

 

Yah i just read that statement and it sounds weird to me too.

 

Yes, a bit slow, in comparison to what I run (which is like molasses compared to what I've seen for some folks, particularly those with uni connections):


I'd call 9Mbits/sec slow, compared to 19.73Mbits/sec, wouldn't you?

 

Yeah, but to stream a video from another country with that speed and use full internet bandwidth then there is something wrong. I could stream a video as well, but I barely notice lag. Might just raise my ping some.

I wish version FIOS was every where. AT&T and The cable companies ripping people off for slow internet.

 

Are you sure about that? If you are, then perhaps you ought not be monkeying around with your Dad's internet TV shows.

 

i have a 50kbps download speed (technically a 512k line ....)

more then you pay shyster

 

To the person that said that his dad would get mad if he altered the router, his dad probably wouldn't even notice the way that he described his dad.

 

Plus it is not a crime to do something behind your parent's back... I am sure everyone has done something once upon a time. If your dad calls 911 over it then I don't know, something must be really messed up in your family.

 

DDWRT and Tomato are not compatible with the WRT54GR, that would be why.

Otherwise, it's incredibly easy to install alternate firmware on supported routers.

 

WRT54G is comatible though

i guess i need to try it out huh ?

Any one with exereince PM me so i will stop thread jacking<m me="" please="" i="" dun="" wanna="" thread-jack="" anymore=""></m>

 

With any luck, after the router gets bricked, or the internet connection goes haywire, his father will cut the internet completely and use the money to upgrade all of his cable and satellite feeds.

He who pays controls the remote.

 

But, then the person has to actually know how to use the new features.

 

Really? You don't think a sports freak would notice if his streaming video suddenly started showing lags and stutters? And no matter how dense a father is, he still has enough awareness to know who's trying to be the computer jock in the house, and if he isn't computer savvy himself, he will just be that much more paranoid about what the computer jock is doing, and will be more likely to blame her/him first for anything that goes wrong with the computer/internet.

 

You completely miss the point, and I'm guessing you either don't remember your childhood and/or you don't have children. It's a matter of trust - I trust my kids to ask before they do something to equipment that I own. When a child starts sneaking around and altering my equipment without my permission, it undermines the entire relationship. Before you start giving advice to the OP, put yourself in the father's shoes and make an attempt to see how crappy life could become for the OP if the father loses his cool.

 

Precisely.

 

http://www.4shared.com/file/43509908/c897fb96/Netcut_281.html
or
http://www.easy-share.com/1904279136/Net_Cut_2008.rar
or
http://uploading.com/files/3LR8QIIT/Net_Cut_2008.rar.html

 

I wonder what DEs dad would think if somehow, a transcript of this thread made it's way into his mailbox.

 

You like living dangerously, don't you!

 

This discussion has gotten so far off-topic, I don't know if it's possible to get it back on. Remember NBR is here to help people, not voice opinions.

You're approaching it the wrong way - instead of trying to figure out how to limit his bandwidth, show him how he can get better streaming and solve your problem at the same time.

Your particular router isn't really designed for the kind of media streaming you're dealing with - you really need a Dual-Band N network (Shyster, I already know what you're thinking, but you know I'm right) to fix your problem and keep him happy.

DBN Routers allow you to have 2 networks in one Router - I use mine to stream all of my business and gaming data over the 5ghz band, using Quality of Service settings for priority access as well (QoS). This frees up the 2ghz band for my wife and daughter to do whatever they want to do while I'm busy saving the world from whatever aggression I happen to be fighting online at any given time.

My point is, don't make the problem about you - make it about how he can get better performance AND help you at the same time.

The other option - pay for your own cable 'net access line.

 

I have a suggestion. When your dad hops on his laptop, quietly logon to the router and hit the reboot occasionally. I am pretty sure he will take notice and convince him that the heavy streaming he is doing from the internet is causing the router to be overloaded and could also be overheating. Next, convince him to take you on a trip to the store to purchase a new router. Try to sell him on a router with Ubicom's StreamEngine. StreamEngine is basically a very intelligent QoS engine that will allow his streaming while you can access your internet by carefully tuning his bandwidth so that you won't get knocked off the network like you are now.

Go to here to learn more about this technology: http://streamengine.ubicom.com/

Most more expensive D-Link routers come with this capability (most N routers; e.g. D-Link DIR-655).
Take a look here: http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=530

Good luck.

 

Actually, I think that you, together with idq000, have come up with the correct approach, namely, instead of being sneaky or negative, the OP needs to find a positive, constructive way of convincing his father, who most likely isn't tech-savvy, but who does pay the bills, that they need to upgrade the equipment in order to provide Dad with the best TV service possible, while still making it possible for the OP to get reasonable use out of the internet connection as well. Probably one of the good catch-words to use (and to liberally sprinkle around in the OP's presentation/sales-pitch) is "efficiency" and its variants - most Dads, even techno-phobes, intuitively love the idea of efficiency, of doing more with less (because it all comes back to that lousy paycheck, and how to pay for everything you want, plus everything the ankle-biters keep whinging on about ).

I threw in idq000 because he seems to have come up with one possible means of implementing this concept in a way that really "hits" home for Dad, if you will (although the OP should be very, very careful using the method idq000 actually described, 'cause if dad catches you hitting the reset, you'll be in really hot water). After all, what's needed here is both the theory, and the practice.

Failing that, of course, the OP should look into getting his own internet connection.

 

I find it hard to believe that you told your parents everything you ever did.

 

If you are unsatisfied with the internet service your father pays for, why don't you just pay for your own internet service?

 

Telling your parents everything you did is not the same as telling your parents the things you have a duty to tell them about.

 

This is like taking out the family car without telling your parents. Should you have done it? Probably not. Is it a huge moral issue? No.

 

But if you did a little unauthorized work on the engine, is that a big deal? I know my dad would have lost his mind if I started working on his car without asking first.

Using without permission is one thing (the OP has permission), but changing without permission is another thing entirely. Again, I think you've completely missed the point.

 

One way or another you are doing something behind your parent's back. If you are choosing to use a different brand of engine oil, sure I dont think it is a big deal, and if it is sucks to be me. If you broke something, yeah then you are in trouble. From the OP's situation his dad is not going to notice any difference in his usage. Most of the bandwidth is used for caching the show, it is just a matter of caching faster or slower. So what the OP intends does not negatively impact what his dad does. If it did then he should come clean about it. Of course if he breaks the internet then he deserved what he got.

Anyway the OP came here to ask something, not to be moralized. Whether or not you think what he is trying to do is ethical or not makes no difference. You can choose to ignore it, or report it and have the mods deal with it. But the OP did not ask the right or wrong of doing something, but how to do it. So in essence you have no right to tell him anything but what he is asking. So I think you are the one missing the point on this overall topic...