LImits on a shared net connection?

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If I want to share my net connection with someone, is there a way to put a limit on the total bytes they can download over some period of time (say one day)?I don’t see anything in the Linksys router I am using (EA2700).

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Do you have admin control over his machine?

If so, you could install something like Networx on his machine. You can set a quota and an access password to prevent casual overide. Useful for monitoring bandwidth consumption too.

If you don’t have access to his machine, and if the router does not support the function out of the box, then perhaps you need a proxy server for users to connect through and to manage internet access.

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Yes, I do have admin rights.

Networx seems to be a passive monitoring system ,not something that would enforce a hard limit number.

I came across this http://www.netlimiter.com/ which seems like it might do the job but I would need one of the paid versions which costs $20 or $30.

There are a whole lot of hits asking about this on Google, so there is an apparent need. I am surprised that easy solutions are so sparse.

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Networx is primarily a passive tool, but it too has the ability to impose quotas.

32465-networx-quota

32466-quota-setup

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Networx Quota is only an informational number on your total allowed bytes. It is intended for one user.
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Setting up a quota

This is a simple way to track your Internet usage if you have got a download limit imposed by your ISP. For example, you might be allowed to download at most 10 GB per month, or 100 MB daily. That is where this feature may be useful. In order to access it, choose Quota from the popup menu.

Basically you only need to specify your quota type (monthly, weekly or daily), measured traffic (total, or either downloads or uploads), usage allowance and whether your ISP splits up the quota to on-peak and off-peak hours.

…

http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/manual/quota.htm
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What I am looking for is something that will partition out an internet connection by some user identification while allowing a specific user “x” amount of total bandwidth over some period of time (say a month’s time).

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Ah, I see, yes: I use networx to measure my children’s bandwidth use at home and talk to them if it is becoming excessive. It works fine across multiple machines, but it won’t do what you want if you need control rather than education and discussion.

You will need a proxy if you wish to manage and enforce limits. This could be a host-based proxy such as Netlimiter, a standalone proxy, or a web based proxy service.

The host-based proxy has the advantage of being easy to setup and maintain, but can be easy circumvented by use of a Linux live CD. The standalone proxy is more secure, but obviously needs a separate box to run it (need not be a powerful one). Even then, the Standalone Proxy has the risk that the other user(s) could simply connect directly to a spare Ethernet port on the router. For further security, a secured router with a standalone proxy or a web based proxy with bandwidth limitations would be best.

This is a guess, but I suspect out of those 3 options, the netlimiter (or similar) software may suit the best, depending on your specific needs.

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