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Client Usage Policy
With the Client Usage Policy function, you can set how much bandwidth a guest can
consume. Bandwidth is the amount of data a guest passes through the system. The
system can only pass a finite amount of data at a time, with the limiting factor usually
being the internet connection itself. Most internet connections such as cable or DSL
typically pass between 3Mb to 2000Mb. Fiber can pass up to 1Gb of data, while satellite
and T1 circuits can be slower than 1Mb. Some internet service providers, especially
satellite based providers, have limits on how much data can be used per day or per
month.
Most guests will never reach their bandwidth limits.
However some guests may attempt to use the
system for downloading large files, such as movies
or video. This can cause excessive usage and
negatively impact all of your guests. If you use
satellite or if your ISP has a daily or monthly
download limit, one guest could easily consume
your entire allotment.
The Client Usage Policy is a system
-
wide rule that
sets limits for all users of the system. It allows you to set an hourly
limit on the amount of
data each user can consume. Before reaching the limit each user will have full access to
the bandwidth on the internet connection—the system will divide the available bandwidth
evenly among the active users. When a user begins to approach their hourly limit that
user will be reduced to a slower speed calculated to prevent them from exceeding the
hourly limit you have set in the Client Usage Policy.
To set the Client Usage Policy select
Administration
on the top menu and then
select
Client Usage Policy
on the drop
down menu. Choose what type of Internet
connection you have and then choose one of
the preset Policies or you can choose custom
and manually set a limit. In most cases the
best choice is to select
Dynamic.
Dynamic
will allow the system to automatically
manage the bandwidth allotted to each guest
based on how busy the system is and what
the ISP is actually providing for bandwidth at
the moment.
The last column in the Active Clients table
shows the Usage Policy status of each individual active user.
If the policy box is green, the user has full access to available
bandwidth. If the policy box is yellow, the user is approaching
the bandwidth limit set by the system and their speed has
been reduced. The reduced speed will be displayed in the
yellow box.
You can allow exceptions to the usage policy for certain users
to allow them unrestricted bandwidth - this feature is
particularly handy for your own computer or the office
computers. To set up a user for unrestricted bandwidth,
simply click on the green or yellow policy box and a screen will open that allows you to
select unrestricted usage. You only need to set unrestricted usage once per ticket, and
the user will remain unrestricted until their ticket expires. If this is for an office computer
consider setting a Permanent ticket by clicking on the ticket number and setting it to
Permanent.
