"You use too much bandwidth" - University network

X3x3non

So apparently over the last weekend I downloaded 7GB of data. I got an email from the college network admin saying that i should bring my laptop to his office so that he can inspect it. From the top of my head, I can remember downloading the Crysis demo, the original Far Cry demo, Gunbound, several video drivers. I do a bunch load of browsing on gametrailers.com (streaming lots of high definition videos) and a play a lot of Team Fortress 2.

None of these things are illegal, i use no file sharing program. 7GB seems a bit much, but right now I can't remember downloading any other files of extraordinary size. No viruses have been found on my computer. Now the college network admin claims that a lot of the bandwidth results from me playing video games. I told him I play Crysis and Team Fortress 2, which are very new games and he said that "If i understand correctly, these are very graphically sophisticated games which can result in a lot of bandwidth, because of the graphics that are exchanged. So could you limit your play time to non office hours." (paraphrased to the best of my knowledge)

I just sort of said "Ehh ok", because I didn't want to argue with college staff, but in retrospect it doesn't make much sense to me. All the graphics that are displayed are client side. The only thing that is exchanged between the client and the server are the coordinates of models/projectiles/vehicles in a 3D space and other tid-bits of info. All the textures and such never make it to the server. I mean, you can potentially play TF2 on comparativly really crappy connections and still get a decent ping so the bandwidth usage by games can't possible be that great. So what do you think? I do you guys know of ways to measure my bandwidth usage? I would love to run a meter in the background while playing TF2 to see how much it uses and also to see if there is any data being transferred while I am not doing anything.

P.S. this network is really sweet though. I can download more than 1MB/s. I get the 1.8GB Crysis demo in like 20 minutes.

mastman

Just explain exactly what you did. They probably want to see if you are an unwilling member of a botnet or Kazaa'ing your way into hell. Then explain to them it's the 21st century and they should upgrade their internets

jotate

Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about.

I had a friend who had a terabyte of movies that he was sharing to the public. He got a similar letter from the admins, but only after they shut off his face plate. Apparently, he accounted for 17% of all campus traffic that month.

X3x3non

So do you guys think playing online games (TF2) can use up appreciable amounts of bandwidth and is there a way i can keep track of how much i am using?

khain

No, and Google bandwidth monitor. I haven't used one, but there appears to be quite a few.

Herschel

The amount of bandwidth used by games really isn't that much -- the graphics really have no bearing on the data being sent. Game demos and streaming videos add up quickly, though. But as long as you don't have any vicious malware and aren't sharing full-length movies, your network admin shouldn't be too angry. Just be glad your university doesn't use an automated system where they shut off your connection if you use too much bandwidth.

corcorigan

High definition videos are killers for bandwidth.

I'm not supposed to play games over the network here though, so I make up for it by streaming HD yet educational videos constantly (also, I have an old G5 iMac so can't actually play anything except WoW). Make me pay for access in my halls will you?...

X3x3non

Yeah i found a bandwidth meter and even watching a small CoD4 clip wound up being 20mb and that was low qual. I watch those fuckers in HD all day long.

Smasher

Playing games won't use any significant bandwidth, but downloading them (particularly the Crysis demo) like that certainly can.

Keep in mind that the network admins can pretty much cut off your access at will. There's not much you can do about the game downloads short of not getting them, but you may want to consider going to lower bandwidth videos.

Lewisham

Games can't afford to send large bandwidth stuff, if they did, the ping would increase. Ping is king. They strive to send as little data as possible.

I would need a very good reason to let someone inspect my computer arbitrarily. Can you fight that?

And yes, watching HD movies is going to rack up your bandwidth very quickly.

Iceman.USAF

I recently had to let my Network Operations guys onto my laptop to enable wireless correctly (something was funny with the certificate). Initially the guy just assumed I was an idiot and started flying through stuff, but I just asked him to slow down so I can keep track he was cool with it. That way I understood exactly what he was doing each step of the way.

Just remember, they generally assume you are computer retarded. Just point out that you're not, and they will probably explain it much better. Then again, he might just be an idiot and actually think games are all played on a central server and the graphics are beamed back to your computer. That'd be silly.

Barrakketh

I can easily use 1.5 GB or so a day just from web browsing with very low streaming video usage. Maybe 2-3 clips from Youtube and 1-2 from Gametrailers, tops. Based on the demos you downloaded I can easily see you using that much bandwidth over the course of the weekend.

Hell, according to my router I have downloaded 2,433.34 MB in the past 24 hours, but when you average it out I've only used 28.84 KB/s.

sinn

DU Meter

Try DU Meter. It will show you your current up and downstream bandwidth usage, provide daily, weekly, monthly reports and totals, and it also has a sort of bandwidth "stopwatch" to measure how much you use from when you start and stop the timer.