# Bandwidth Limiting Software Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 20, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454 "2017-06-20T17:35:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454/1 "2017-06-20T17:35:32Z")

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Mods: This might be more suitable for IMHO.

My son works in the service department of a car dealership and they offer their customers free WiFi in their waiting area. They are looking for (cheap) software that will limit the amount of downloading/streaming that their customers can do.

I know software like Net Nanny will control what websites people can see and get to, but they don’t seem to limit the amount of bandwidth users can use. Is there anything out there that I should be looking at that has this functionality? They don’t care about what content their customers are looking at. :dubious:

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**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454/2 "2017-06-20T17:41:39Z")

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I don’t know of any software off the top of my head (it exists of course, but it might actually be a bit of a pain to install considering what I assume to be the level of IT infrastructure at car dealership); using a router that has the feature might be the easier route.

[Some TP-Link models have this ability](http://www.tp-link.com/us/faq-557.html).

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**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454/3 "2017-06-20T18:31:58Z")

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Normally the wifi router has that ability in its settings, usually in the QOS section

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**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454/4 "2017-06-20T18:37:31Z")

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It can be done on the router, if you can find one that has Quality of Service controls.

> **[How to Use Quality of Service (QoS) to Get Faster Internet When You Really...](https://www.howtogeek.com/75660/the-beginners-guide-to-qos-on-your-router/)**
>
> Not all Internet traffic is equal. Streaming HD video or having a stutter-free Skype call is probably more important to you than downloading a big file. The Quality of Service feature on your router lets you prioritize the things you care...

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bandwidth-limiting-software-question/789454/5 "2017-06-20T22:06:57Z")

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[OpenWrt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenWrt)

This is free software. You can install it on a variety of cheap routers.