Traffic Shaping Objectives
Traffic shaping operates by measuring and queuing IP packets with respect to a number of
configurable parameters. The objectives are:
•
Applying bandwidth limits and queuing packets that exceed configured limits, then sending
them later when bandwidth demands are lower.
•
Dropping packets if packet buffers are full. The packets to be dropped should be chosen from
those that are responsible for the congestion.
•
Prioritizing traffic according to administrator decisions. If traffic with a high priority increases
while a communication line is full, traffic with a low priority can be temporarily limited to make
room for the higher priority traffic.
•
Providing bandwidth guarantees. This is typically accomplished by treating a certain amount of
traffic (the guaranteed amount) as high priority. The traffic that is in excess of the guarantee then
has the same priority as other traffic, competing with all the other non-prioritized traffic.
Traffic shaping does not typically work by queuing up immense amounts of data and then sorting
out the prioritized traffic to send before sending non-prioritized traffic. Instead, the amount of
prioritized traffic is measured and the non-prioritized traffic is limited dynamically so that it will not
interfere with the throughput of prioritized traffic.
Note: Traffic shaping will not work with the SIP ALG
Any traffic connections that trigger an IP rule with a service object that uses the SIP
ALG cannot be also subject to traffic shaping.
10.1.2. Traffic Shaping in NetDefendOS
NetDefendOS offers extensive traffic shaping capabilities for the packets passing through the
NetDefend Firewall. Different rate limits and traffic guarantees can be created as policies based on
the traffic's source, destination and protocol, similar to the way in which security policies are created
based on IP rules.
The two key components for traffic shaping in NetDefendOS are:
•
Pipes
•
Pipe Rules
Pipes
A Pipe is the fundamental object for traffic shaping and is a conceptual channel through which data
traffic can flow. It has various characteristics that define how traffic passing through it is handled.
As many pipes as are required can be defined by the administrator. None are defined by default.
Pipes are simplistic in that they do not care about the types of traffic that pass through them nor the
direction of that traffic. They simply measure the aggregate data that passes through them and then
apply the administrator configured limits for the pipe as a whole or for Precedences and/or Groups
(these concepts are explained later in Section 10.1.6, “Precedences”).
NetDefendOS is capable of handling hundreds of pipes simultaneously, but in reality most scenarios
require only a handful of pipes. It is possible that dozens of pipes might be needed in scenarios
where individual pipes are used for individual protocols. Large numbers of pipes might also be
needed in an ISP scenario where individual pipes are allocated to each client.
10.1.2. Traffic Shaping in
NetDefendOS
Chapter 10. Traffic Management
452
Summary of Contents for NetDefend DFL-260E
Page 27: ...1 3 NetDefendOS State Engine Packet Flow Chapter 1 NetDefendOS Overview 27...
Page 79: ...2 7 3 Restore to Factory Defaults Chapter 2 Management and Maintenance 79...
Page 146: ...3 9 DNS Chapter 3 Fundamentals 146...
Page 227: ...4 7 5 Advanced Settings for Transparent Mode Chapter 4 Routing 227...
Page 241: ...5 4 IP Pools Chapter 5 DHCP Services 241...
Page 339: ...6 7 Blacklisting Hosts and Networks Chapter 6 Security Mechanisms 339...
Page 360: ...7 4 7 SAT and FwdFast Rules Chapter 7 Address Translation 360...
Page 382: ...8 3 Customizing HTML Pages Chapter 8 User Authentication 382...
Page 386: ...The TLS ALG 9 1 5 The TLS Alternative for VPN Chapter 9 VPN 386...
Page 439: ...Figure 9 3 PPTP Client Usage 9 5 4 PPTP L2TP Clients Chapter 9 VPN 439...
Page 450: ...9 7 6 Specific Symptoms Chapter 9 VPN 450...
Page 488: ...10 4 6 Setting Up SLB_SAT Rules Chapter 10 Traffic Management 488...
Page 503: ...11 6 HA Advanced Settings Chapter 11 High Availability 503...
Page 510: ...12 3 5 Limitations Chapter 12 ZoneDefense 510...
Page 533: ...13 9 Miscellaneous Settings Chapter 13 Advanced Settings 533...