[Techtalk] My son is a network hog -- limiting usage on one computer (fedora 15)?

[Chris Wilson]

Hi Gwen,

On Sun, 4 Dec 2011, Gwen Morse wrote:

> I do *not* want to monitor the specifics of what he's doing. He's 19 and can 
> do what he likes (within legal reason). I want all of us to stop being 
> throttled because one person in the house is a network pig. I've talked to my 
> son repeatedly but he still keeps going over the limit.
> 
> What I'd like is to know what I can use to set a nice round limit (say 1 gig 
> a month) and have it monitor his usage and then throttle him on his laptop if 
> he goes over that limit. After a month it would reset and start all over 
> again.
> 
> Many/most ISPs use linux (or unix) for their servers and I was wondering what 
> package I could use to do something like this?
> 
> I've looked at some traffic shaping software but I'm not sure that's what I 
> want. I don't want to prioritize certain traffic. I just want to (almost) cut 
> him off once he goes over a predetermined limit.

I use pmacct to log network traffic by local source address into a MySQL 
database, and a heavily customised version of the WonderShaper QoS script which 
executes a SQL query to calculate the number of bytes used within a given time 
frame, and if any user exceeds that limit, to completely block their Internet 
access. It's quite easy to change this from a block to placing all their 
traffic in a heavily throttled QoS class. It also prioritises VOIP and 
interactive SSH over web traffic and backups, to allow them to remain usable.

Script and pmacct config attached.

This configuration only logs local addresses, not remote ones or ports, so it's 
impossible to tell what anyone was doing with the connection, only how much 
they used.

You can also download various Windows programs such as DU Meter and tbbMeter 
which can keep track of usage on an individual computer, such as your son's.

Cheers, Chris.
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