MTCNA Class-05: Bandwidth Control & Traffic Shaping

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 Class-05: Bandwidth Control & Traffic Shaping

Objectives -

  • Introduction to Bandwidth Management

  • Simple Queues for Traffic Limiting

  • Managing User Bandwidth with Simple Queues

  • Traffic Shaping and Priority Queuing 

  • Creating ISP packages (burst/day-night plans) & Bandwidth Monitoring


Concept Overview -

Bandwidth Management is the process of controlling network traffic to ensure fair distribution of available bandwidth, prevent congestion, and improve performance for critical services.

Traffic Shaping is a bandwidth management technique that delays and regulates packet flow to smooth network traffic, reduce bursts, and meet defined Quality of Service (QoS) policies.


How It Works (Theory)

Bandwidth management in MikroTik is based on traffic classification, marking, and queue scheduling.

  • Traffic Classification

    • Identify packets by IP, MAC, port, protocol, or Layer7 (application signatures).

    • Example: Recognizing VoIP packets by UDP ports 5060, or identifying YouTube traffic by Layer7 patterns.

  • Traffic Marking

    • Assign a label to traffic (e.g., "VOIP", "SOCIAL", "BROWSING") using Mangle Rules.

    • Marked packets can be handled differently later in the process.

  • Queuing and Scheduling

    • Packets enter queues where bandwidth limits and priorities are enforced.

    • MikroTik uses HTB (Hierarchical Token Bucket) for scheduling:

      • max-limit → Hard cap on bandwidth.

      • limit-at → Minimum guaranteed bandwidth.

      • priority → Order in which queues get available bandwidth.


  • Traffic Shaping

    • Uses controlled delays and prioritization to smooth bursts and prevent congestion.

    • Examples:

      • Rate Limiting → Restricts data rate to a set speed.

      • Burst Mode → Allows temporary higher speeds for short periods.

      • PCQ (Per Connection Queue) → Distributes bandwidth equally among multiple users.





Main Tools in MikroTik for Bandwidth Management :

Tool/Feature

Purpose

Simple Queues

Easy per-user bandwidth limits.

Queue Tree

Advanced hierarchical traffic control, shaping, and prioritization.

PCQ (Per Connection Queue)

Automatic equal distribution of bandwidth among multiple users

Priority Levels

QoS marking with higher priority for critical traffic.

Burst Settings

Temporary speed boost for short data transfers.

Firewall Mangle

Classifying/marking traffic before applying queues.


Advantages -

  • Optimized Resource Use → Maximum efficiency of available bandwidth.

  • Improved User Experience → Reduced buffering and lag.

  • Control Over Applications → Block or slow down non-essential services.

  • Scalability → Works for small offices to large ISPs.



LAB: Creating ISP Packages (User Bandwidth Control)


Step 1: Simple Queue (Basic Plan)

/queue simple

add name="1Mbps User" target=192.168.1.10 max-limit=1M/1M

add name="2Mbps User" target=192.168.1.20 max-limit=2M/2M

Step 2: Burst Speed Plan

/queue simple

add name="Burst Plan" target=192.168.1.30 \

max-limit=2M/2M \

burst-limit=4M/4M \

burst-threshold=1M/1M \

burst-time=10s

Step 3: Day/Night Plan

Step A: Create Time-Based Queue

/queue simple

add name="Day Plan" target=192.168.1.40 max-limit=1M/1M time=8h-23h59m

add name="Night Plan" target=192.168.1.40 max-limit=3M/3M time=0h-7h59m

Step 4: PCQ-Per Connection Queue (ISP Level Bandwidth Sharing)

/queue type

add name=pcq-download kind=pcq pcq-rate=2M pcq-classifier=dst-address

add name=pcq-upload kind=pcq pcq-rate=2M pcq-classifier=src-address


/queue tree

add name="Download Control" parent=global queue=pcq-download

add name="Upload Control" parent=global queue=pcq-upload


Bandwidth Monitoring

Step 1: Torch (Real-time monitoring)

/tool torch interface=ether1

Step 2: Interface Traffic

/interface monitor-traffic ether1

Step 3: Queue Monitoring

/queue simple print stats

Step 4: Graphing (GUI or CLI)

/tool graphing interface add interface=ether1

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