Need a way to control the internet bandwidth in a small office without blocking any URL?

Question

i need a Program:
1) That divide the Internet bandwidth on users.

2) A program that warn me if a certain user exceeds a given bandwidth.

3)i know windows server 2003 and XP does have this feature which enable users to send messages to each other though the network but it doesn't always work properly with SP2 also i heard that it is not recommended to enabled this feature on the server so is there any program that can do the job safely ?

Answer 1

You need to install an appliance called packeteer or create a firewall that limits traffic for each network device.

There may be some free programs, but most have limited options.

Answer 2

Here is a list of several
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/bandwidth_limiting_info/
the one I looked at was "Soft Perfect"
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/SoftPerfect_Bandwidth_Manager_21068_p/

But once examined I went with a Linux gateway and added bandwidth limiting within the gateway. There are some routers which can do this also. I think you get some QOS and bandwidth control with DD-Wrt which works with several routers. (Linksys, Buffalo, other linux based systems)
http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/ddwrt.php

The best way is to use a "CONTROLLER" like a computer with two network cards and software to control the speed. Linux has several versions available. There are also many managed switches which allow you to set data rates per connection. These are usually much more effective than any software solutions.

Answer 3

buy a hardware router like WRT54GL (100$) or any else that can run OpenWRT, that software has a QoS function where you can control the user traffic. If you do not want a hardware solution, use some small Linux distribution that can do the job (perhaps Freesco?)

Answer 4

You probably need a hardware solution like Packeteer
http://www.packeteer.com/solutions/microsoft.cfm .
This is only one suggestion that I know of, I do not represent or recommend anyone, just the concept.