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Rules

SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager examines each data packet passing through the network. If a rule applies to the data packet then the specified speed limit is applied to that packet. The rules apply in descending order in the rules list with highest priority rules at the top, i.e. the first matched rule applies and no remaining rules are checked. There are menu options to allow rules to be moved up or down in the list if this is needed. If a network packet does not match any rule in the list then no speed constraint is applied to it. See also the rule examples.

To add a new rule select Rules - Add Rule from the main menu or click

To delete a rule select Rules - Remove Rule from the main menu or click

To edit a rule select Rules - Edit Rule from the main menu or click .

To change the rule priority use Rules - Move Up or Move Down to move the rule position in the rules list, or simply Drag & Drop the rule.

Details of the fields in the Add Rule display:

• Rule Name - Enter a descriptive name for the rule.
• Direction - Traffic direction on the network interface.
• Transfer Rate Limit - A data transfer speed limit. You can specify this limit in bytes per second or bits per second, or use a quota for variable rates. In order to use different upstream/downstream rates in a bidirectional rule, specify the rates separated by a colon. For example 100000:50000 would enforce a 100 kbps limit on incoming traffic and a 50 kbps limit on outgoing traffic.
• Combined - allows to share the transfer rate limit in a bidirectional rule. For example, if you set a 128 Kbps combined limit, the sum of upload and download rates will never exceed 128 Kbps.
• Protocol - The network protocol for this filter.
• Interface - The network interface type that the rule applies to.

If you have specified an IP based protocol, you also need to specify Source and Destination parameters. These can be IP addresses, MAC addresses, address ranges or address groups. Other special parameters allowed here are Any Address and Local host.

In order to specify the advanced rule properties, choose the Advanced tab. If you decide to use a schedule, the rule will be either enabled or disabled according to the timetable you choose. For instance, you can configure your rules to allow high speed Internet access on working days and disable it at all on holidays. In addition you can enable or disable the rule on a specific date. The Rule Enabled option becomes read-only and cannot be changed manually when the rule is linked to a schedule.

The Additional Processing feature allows you to redirect incoming connections to a local port or a web-site. See the mapping section for details.

Within the Miscellaneous group the Invert options define how the software interprets the rule. For instance, if you would like to catch all traffic other than directed to the local machine, set the corresponding option. You can also enable the Short packet flood penalty to penalize users who send a lot of small packets into the network; remember to adjust global short packet flood penalty parameters if it is needed.

The Dynamic Allocation tab allows to discourage users from heavy downloads or watching on-line video. Using this feature you can throttle long or large data transfers or the users who open too many connections. For example, if the Volume threshold is set to 1000 KB and the allocation is set to 50%, this means if the user downloads or uploads anything larger than 1000 KB, the user's connection speed will drop by 50% until the transfer ends. As soon it ends, the normal transfer rate will be restored in several seconds. If multiple penalties are chosen, the first triggered one applies.

The User Information tab allows to set a password to access the usage report via a web-browser.

SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager has a helpful batch wizard. If you would like to add a number of rules, for example to cover a LAN segment, use the Add Batch command. It helps you to create many similar rules within a single action.