Pipes Basics; Packet Flow Through Pipes; Applying A Simple Bandwidth Limit - D-Link NetDefend DFL-210 User Manual

10.1.4. Pipes Basics

10.1.4. Pipes Basics
10.1.4.1. Definition of a Pipe
A Pipe is a central concept in the traffic shaping functionality of NetDefendOS and is the basis for
all bandwidth control. Pipes are configured in the Pipes section of the firewall configuration.
Pipes are fairly simplistic, in that they do not know much about the types of traffic that pass through
them, and they know nothing about direction. A pipe simply measures the traffic that passes through
it and applies the configured limits in each precedence and/or user group.
Inbound network traffic is first filtered within the firewall IP rule-set, and is then passed to the
pipe(s) specified in the matching rule. In the pipe, traffic is limited with respect to the configuration
of the pipe and is then forwarded to its destination, or to the next pipe in a chain.
Figure 10.1. Packet flow through pipes
NetDefendOS is capable of handling hundreds of pipes simultaneously, but in reality, only a handful
of pipes are required for most scenarios. The only time where you might end up with dozens and
dozens of pipes are scenarios where you create individual pipes for each service (protocol, or client
in ISP cases).
10.1.4.2. Simple Bandwidth Limit
The most basic use of pipes is simple bandwidth limits. This is also probably the only scenario that
doesn't really require much planning.
In our first example, we will apply a bandwidth limit to only one direction, inbound traffic. This is
the direction most likely to cause problems in an internet connection.
Example 10.1. Applying a Simple Bandwidth Limit
Begin with creating a simple pipe that limits all traffic that gets passed through it to 2 megabits per second, re-
gardless of what traffic it is.
CLI
gw-world:/> add Pipe std-in LimitKbpsTotal=2000
Web Interface
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Chapter 10. Traffic Management