Free Bandwidth Throttler for Windows 7?

[Neillithan]

Hi, I realize the idea of bandwidth throttling/limiting is ludicrous, but I am desperate.

Ever since my ISP was taken over by Comcast, my connection has been throttled and it is unbearable. Allow me to explain.

When I download a file from a website, it tends to download at my maximum download rate. It starts off at an insane speed that I don't even pay for: around 2-3MB/s. It stays that way for about 15 seconds and then the Comcast throttlers kick-on and throttle my connection down to 1.1MB/sec. During this time period, it makes browsing the net, playing a game, or anything for that matter completely unbearable. I have a gadget on my desktop that monitors my ping to various servers and I can witness the ping skyrocket from 20-40 all the way to 2-300, sometimes higher.

This happens when I download a file via http or install a game from Steam. It does "not" happen when I download files from bittorrent or usenet, where I have encryption and multiple simultaneous connections, which is extremely weird. You would think bandwidth hogging programs like Usenet with multiple simultaneous connections running at maximum download rate would sap the bandwidth dry, but they don't... my pings are normal, I can browse the net with ease and I can even play games while downloading at my maximum download speed while using bittorrent and usenet programs.

But for some reason, I am not able to do any of that stuff while using a simple web browser. Also, browsing sites like Youtube produces the same lagging effect because the videos are streaming in at a very fast rate which causes my internet connection to go haywire

This is not limited to just my computer, all computers on the network suffer when "ONE" person is downloading files. I have tried replacing my D-Link router with one of the newer Linksys high performance routers with the internal antennae, but to no avail does it stop this problem.

The only way I can think of that this will permanently end this problem is if I install some form of bandwidth throttler on all of the computers on my network that prevent the download rates from exceeding 1000KB/sec per connection. That's per connection, not per computer. HUGE difference. If I cap the bandwidth at 1000KB/sec per computer, then that means the computer will be starved the same way Comcast throttles, which is no good. If I limit the connections to only 950KB/sec, the Comcast throttlers never kick-on. I know this due to my own experimentation with such programs like Free Download Manager, which give me the ability to throttle the download rate to any number I choose.

It's for sites like Youtube, that I desperately need a throttler.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-Neil

Edit: I created a graph which perfectly illustrates the Comcast throttlers in action. You'll have to take my word for the ping as I have no way to map the ping over time. I basically run a separate program called Pingplotter which monitors the ping of an IP address several times per minute. It gives me a really accurate result of the ping.

DO NOT CLICK THE THUMBNAIL, CLICK THE LINK BELOW IT.

Click here to view the full size image

 

[GIXXERGUY6]

What is your download rate now? I believe Comcast has something that is called PowerBoost or Speedboost. What this does is boosts your internet speed when there is low overhead of traffic in the area(meaning you get more than you pay for SOMETIMES).

The reason why you see increased ping rates is because you are still downloading!

Can you give us more information please.

 

[EarthDog]

Ehh, that sounds like its working right. Comcast has speedboost so the intial download speeds starts out quick and then falls back.

The ping issue though sounds totally seperate to me. I would contact Comcast.

 

[Neillithan]

What is your download rate now? I believe Comcast has something that is called PowerBoost or Speedboost. What this does is boosts your internet speed when there is low overhead of traffic in the area(meaning you get more than you pay for SOMETIMES).

The reason why you see increased ping rates is because you are still downloading!

Can you give us more information please.

The increased ping rates are due to the comcast throttlers kicking on. If I manually throttle my own traffic at exactly or below my maximum download rate, the throttlers do not kick on and my ping does not drastically increase to the 150-300 ping range.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that downloading anything would make my ping increase to something totally unbearable like that. I know for a fact the high pings stem from the throttling because when I had Insight Broadband, they did not have this problem when I downloaded at my maximum download rate.

I edited my first post with a screenshot, which should illustrate the issue very clearly.

I just wish there was a program similar to NetLimiter that was free. I have 3 PCs in the house, so it would end up costing me $90 to put NetLimiter on each PC. That is INSANE.

 

[PretzelPusher]

Unfortunately, your picture is so small noone can see it....

 

[Neillithan]

Unfortunately, your picture is so small noone can see it....

Yeah, that's not my fault. That's the forum's fault. Click the link directly beneath it.

 

[GIXXERGUY6]

here is a better picture I think

 

[c627627]

To answer your question, if you find a free one, please let me know. I only know of this one:
http://www.netlimiter.com/download.php

 

[jlmorton]

I haven't tested it, but here is another possible option for a bandwidth controller for your throttling issue.

http://bandwidthcontroller.com/trafficShaperXp.html

 

[Mpegger]

One thing I've learned whenever I've looking into QOS issues while setting up Smoothwall, IPCop, and Astaro, is that you cannot effectively control the incoming bandwidth on a connection, only the outgoing.

The incoming speed will be at whatever speed your connection is capable of receiving, you have no control of that. If you try to limit incoming speed, your just going to be dropping packets, and having the server resend those same packets again.

However, by limiting the outgoing speed (the acknowledgment), you can slow down the incoming. Everything requires a certain upload speed in order to function. If the upload (outgoing) is limited, the server sending the data has to wait before it can continue sending out data.

The best way to limit data on a individual PC using a program such as NetLimiter, is to limit the upload speed by program, like IE or Firefox. If/when you get a bandwidth control program for your PC, begin by setting up one program, such as Firefox (or which your preferred browser is) to only have 1kbyte of upload bandwidth available, and then test your download speed with a bandwidth test site (sites like Youtube can have varying speeds) using the browser. You should notice that your download speed with Firefox will be less then your total available download bandwidth, and after multiple test, you should have an idea of whats the maximum it'll allow using only 1kbyte of upload bandwidth. From there, increase (or decrease) the upload bandwidth till the download speed is at a desirable speed.

Using a hardware or software firewall is a little more involved, as the methods of control used can vary greatly, if it even offers any control at all (sometimes referred to as Quality of Service [QOS] settings).

 

[tool_462]

Welcome to the joys of Comcast 12mbps service. It is what it is, but I was on it for years and never had that issue with ping. I'd contact them and see what they say, usually their customer support has been pretty good in my experience.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

The Comcast throttling to 1.1 MB/s is strange!

Because someone I know that has Comcast, in the same town, the sustained download,
after being at least around 30 Mbit for a short time, usually remains at least 12 Mbit. (1.5 MB/s)
Usually at least 12 Mbit for the whole download.

When I was there, I never had a problem with it dropping to 9 Mbit!