Agent bandwidth throttling

The system resource policy lets you limit (throttle) the amount of network bandwidth that Agents use to upload or download files from Connected. By throttling Agent bandwidth, you automatically allocate more bandwidth to other network activities on the computer.

Here are a few guidelines to consider when planning to throttle Agent bandwidth:

  • To simplify the process of applying bandwidth limits, consider grouping users with similar bandwidth throttling needs together.

    For example, if the network that Agents at a remote office use to connect to Connected has limited network speed, you can assign users at that office to the same group or group hierarchy. Then, you can set bandwidth throttling for those groups appropriately.

    To apply bandwidth throttling to existing groups, you might need to add new groups and move some users to accommodate your bandwidth throttling needs.

  • You can throttle the bandwidth for Agent uploads and downloads independently.

    Upload bandwidth throttling affects how quickly the Agent backs up files or syncs them to Connected. Download bandwidth throttling affects how quickly the Agent restores or syncs files from Connected.

  • Set appropriate limits for your network.

    The Agent does not check your network’s actual available bandwidth against the bandwidth throttling limits that you set. If you set maximum bandwidth limits that exceed your network’s actual data transfer speed, then the bandwidth throttling will be insufficient to reduce Agent network intrusiveness.

  • Throttling the bandwidth of Agents reduces their network intrusiveness while uploading or downloading files; however, it takes them more time to complete the upload or download process.

    The table below shows a few examples of the estimated time that it takes Agents to upload or download files when you throttle bandwidth. The estimated time varies depending on the following:

    • The bandwidth allocated to the Agent
    • The total size of the files to upload or download (after Agent optimization and compression)
    Bandwidth allocated to Agent Total amount of data to upload or download Estimated time to complete
    2048 Kbps 500 MB 0.6 hours
      1 GB 1.1 hours
      3 GB 3.3 hours
      15 GB 16.7 hours
    1024 Kbps 500 MB 1.1 hours
      1 GB 2.3 hours
      3 GB 6.8 hours
      15 GB 34.1 hours
    500 Kbps 500 MB 2.3 hours
      1 GB 4.7 hours
      3 GB 13 hours
      15 GB 2.9 days
    200 Kbps 500 MB 5.7 hours
      1 GB 11.7 hours
      3 GB 35 hours
      15 GB 7.3 days