I know that there are some Internet Service Providers has rate plans that would limit the amount of bandwidth each customer can use each month before additional fees kick in. Usually the additional usage rates are very high and not worth paying for it. So it’s either you use limited bandwidth plan WITHOUT overusing it or just get the unlimited bandwidth usage plan.

Most common problem with using limited bandwidth is when your family members is also using it. Your kids can be downloading a lot of cartoons on the Internet and the bandwidth runs out very quickly and etc. Another problem is when one is using the Internet heavily such as downloading from Bittorrent, it is near impossible to have a nice surfing experience on the other.

The best way is to limit the Internet bandwidth by using traffic shaping software.

There are some excellent bandwidth limiting software such as NetLimiter and SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager but it is shareware. After a little searching, I manage to find 2 free traffic shaping software to control and limit bandwidth. One is very easy to use but old and outdated and the other one is up to date and customizable.

1. Shunra Nimbus
Download Shunra Nimbus Limit Internet Bandwidth
- As you can see at the program’s interface, it is SO EASY. Just install and run Nimbus from start menu. You can select the bandwidth speed that you want to limit and click Play. It has 14.4, 28.8, 33.6, 56.0, 64.0, 128.0 and 256.0. The numbers are calculated at kilobits (Kb) and not Kilobytes (KB). So if you set it to 256.0, it means you’re capping the Internet at 32KBps. 1 byte equals 8 bits. Just divide the numbers with 8. If you quit the program, the traffic shaping will also stop. Shunra Nimbus is no longer available at its official website but I manage to find the installation setup file.

[ Download Shunra Nimbus ]

2. Traffic Shaper XP
Traffic Shaper XP Bandwidth limiting software
- Traffic Shaper XP is the only free traffic shaping software that is customizable which is more suitable for advance computer users. After installation, you’ll need to create rules to limit the internet bandwidth. Simply click the Add Rule Wizard button and you can select which network adapter, direction (upload or download), port, IP address, and speed to limit. The best part about Traffic Shaper XP is after you’ve created a rule, you can close the program and it will still continue to shape your internet bandwidth. It will continue to control your internet traffic in background.

[ Download Traffic Shaper XP ]

[tags]internet, limit, bandwidth, traffic, shaper[/tags]