Configuring Bandwidth Management Profiles

This article details how to create and manage Bandwidth Management profiles in the Cato Management Application to help manage and prioritize traffic in your network.

Overview of Bandwidth Management Profiles

Bandwidth Management profiles define how you measure and control network traffic based on profiles to manage and prioritize upstream/downstream bandwidth according to a fixed speed or a percentage of the total bandwidth. By default, these profiles are applied at the account level rather than per site. The Bandwidth Management table includes predefined profiles that can be edited as needed. Additional profiles can be added and configured for greater granularity.

After you define your Bandwidth Management profiles apply them to Network Rules (see Configuring Network Rules) .

Note

Note: To help make sure that network rules are configured correctly, rules in the Bandwidth Management screen are for the entire account. You can also create profiles for specific sites and interfaces which override the global settings.

QoS Settings

Each profile lets you set the traffic priority and bandwidth limits which controls the QoS based on traffic classes.

Priority

Priority sets the relative weight or importance given to each Bandwidth Management Profile.

Each profile is given a Priority number ranging from 2 to 254 that determines the relative priority of the traffic, as defined by the networking rule. Lower priority profiles (for example, P200 and higher) are generally reserved for lower priority traffic such as backup data.

Limits

The Limit setting defines maximum throughput that the QoS engine allows for this priority. By default, the Limit value is set to No limit. Other options include Always limit and Limit only when line is congested.

Class of Traffic

The Class of Traffic column shows the names of the network rules assigned to each traffic priority.

Creating a New Bandwidth Management Profile

QoS profiles and network rules can be configured globally (account level), and tailored with as much granularity as required (for example, at site level).

Cato recommends using the % unit of measurement for Bandwidth Management Profiles at the account level. If you need to configure profiles for specific sites or interfaces, we recommend that you use Mbps at the site level (see Overriding Bandwidth Management Profiles for a Site. If you enter upstream/downstream values that are greater than the actual connection speed of your ISP's link, Cato Socket QoS engine will be ineffective.

bandwidthmanagement.png

To create a Bandwidth Management Profile for your account:

  1. From the navigation menu, click Network > Bandwidth Management.

  2. Click New. The Add panel opens.

  3. Configure the Bandwidth Management profile:

    • Priority: Enter a value between 2 to 254.

    • Limits: Select if and how to limit the bandwidth for this priority as follows:

      • No Limit - don't force any bandwidth limits.

        Note

        Note: Selecting No Limit, can potentially starve traffic with lower priorities.

      • Always Limit - Always enforce the limit according to the Upload/Download values defined below.

      • Limit only when line is congested - Enforce the limit (according to the upload/download values defined below) only during times when the line is congested.

    • Upload Limit and Download Limit: Enter the limit and select percentage (%) or bandwidth (Mbps).

  4. Click Apply. The new profile is added to the Bandwidth Management table in the order defined by the configured priority.

  5. Click Save. The new profile is saved.

Editing a Bandwidth Management Profiles

To edit a Bandwidth Management profile:

  1. From the navigation menu, click Network > Bandwidth Management.

  2. Click on the profile to edit. The Edit Bandwidth panel opens.

  3. Edit the value(s) as needed.

  4. Click Apply. The changes are updated.

  5. Click Save. The changes are saved.

Deleting Bandwidth Management Profiles

You can't delete a Bandwidth Management profile if the priority is currently assigned to a network rule.

To delete a Bandwidth Management profile:

  1. From the navigation menu, click Network > Bandwidth Management.

  2. From the row with the profile, click Delete.png. The profile is removed.

  3. Click Save. The profile is deleted.

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