Traffic Shaping – WISPGate Documentaion

Traffic shaping is a crucial technique used in computer networking to manage and control the flow of network traffic. It involves prioritizing and regulating the transmission of data packets to optimize network performance and ensure fair distribution of bandwidth among users or applications.

The primary goal of traffic shaping is to shape network traffic according to predefined policies and rules. By controlling the bandwidth allocated to different types of traffic, ISPs can prioritize critical applications or services while limiting the impact of non-essential or bandwidth-intensive activities. This helps maintain a consistent quality of service (QoS) for users and prevents congestion or network bottlenecks.

Traffic shaping can be implemented through various mechanisms, such as packet scheduling algorithms, queuing disciplines, and bandwidth allocation techniques. These mechanisms enable network administrators to define traffic priorities, set bandwidth limits, and establish traffic classification rules based on factors like source, destination, protocol, or application.

In WISPGate, you have the ability to create and oversee your Quality of Service (QoS) settings, ranging from individual packages and QoS groups to smoothly switching between different QoS modes.

Traffic & Packages Create many different packages and assign them to your customers. Under Traffic & Packages, you can create the following packages:

A. Dedicated Packages Dedicated packages” as the name suggests, are packages that are specifically assigned or allocated for a particular purpose or use for a customer.

To understand the concepts of dedicated packages,

Parent: Parent setting is not required, as users will remain without parent.
Rates: would be taken as the User Committed Information Rate (CIR) = User Maximum information Rate (MIR)

CIR (Committed Information Rate) worst case scenario, flow will get this amount of traffic rate regardless of other traffic flows. At any given time, the bandwidth should not fall below this committed rate.
MIR (Maximum Information Rate) – best case scenario, maximum available data rate for flow, if there is free any part of bandwidth

Queue type: Queue Type is based on the First-In First-Out (FIFO)
Queue Table: This is based on a Simple Queue
Traffic Recognition: The specific IP address of the user device. By login and logout conditions, the user IP will be added or removed from the simple queue table.

Creating Dedicated Package

Select the Traffic & Packages
Click the Add Package
Enter the Package Name (*)
Status: Select Active or Inactive
Set Speed Plan to Yes

Data Plan set to No otherwise set to Yes to enter Set to Bidirectional to indicate that the data will be used for both download and upload

Set to Unidrectional

Save entry once done.

Shared Packages:

These packages are accessed by multiple users or devices. There can be many ways to manipulate how the shared package should work. Consider a simple Shared Package configuration.

To understand how the shared package worlds, let’s consider the following: We are offering a 5 Mbps plan to customers, which operates on a sharing ratio of 1:5. This means that WISPGate will designate the parent MIR (Minimum Information Rate) as 5 Mbps. Under this parent rate, it will allocate 5 users, each with an individual MIR of 5 Mbps. When the network is not congested and only one user is downloading/uploading, that user will be able to utilize the full 5 Mbps throughput.

However, if a second user starts actively downloading, both users will receive a reduced speed of 2.5 Mbps each. The bandwidth will be shared equally between the two users. In the scenario where all 5 users are downloading simultaneously, they will divide the parent queue’s bandwidth, and each user will receive a minimum speed of 1 Mbps (CIR – Committed Information Rate) to ensure they meet their required minimum speed. Flow Diagram of auto-sharing.

In the situation where 7 users are put on a 1:5 ratio plan, WISPGate will automatically change the parent MIR to 7 Mbps, leaving the MIR of each user at 5 Mbps. The process is explained in the diagram below.

Keep in mind:

For auto-sharing, parent queues will be generated dynamically, requiring only to define the desired ratio. As a result, the CIR and MIR fields under the auto-sharing page can be omitted.
The parent queue type will be set as PCQ, while the child queue type will be set as FIFO. To manage the traffic, we will utilize a Simple Queue as the Queue Table, and IP addresses will be used for traffic recognition.
As users log in and log out, their respective IP addresses will be added to or removed from both the parent and child queues accordingly.

Creating Shared Package

Click the Add Package button
From the list, Package Type select Shared Package
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields

When creating a subscription, both the package and the parent group will be selected manually. However, during the definition of the package and group, it is essential to display only those groups that can accommodate the package based on the CIR and MIR values of the children and parents.

To ensure this, the system should only show available parents/groups that have a MIR equal to or greater than the selected package’s MIR. Additionally, caution should be taken to avoid adding more users to a parent if the aggregation of all children’s CIRs will exceed the Parent MIR.

To meet this requirement, the following conditions should be adhered to:

The sum of each user’s CIR (Customer Information Rate) within a parent should be less than or equal to the Parent MIR.
Each individual user’s MIR should be less than or equal to the Parent MIR.

In essence, the manual sharing process and logic will mirror the auto-sharing process. However, in manual sharing, the WISPGate Operator will place children under a parent manually. The same logic, rules, and conditions will be followed, ensuring that grouping customers is done efficiently, as exemplified by grouping all tenants of a 5-floor building under one parent for an ISP owner.

The setup for the network’s traffic management is as follows:

Parent queue type: PCQ
Child queue type: FIFO
Queue Table: Simple Queue
Traffic Recognition: IP address

Whenever a user logs in or logs out, the system will automatically add or remove the user’s IP address from both the parent and child queues. This way, the network can efficiently manage and prioritize the traffic for each user based on their IP address. The PCQ (Per Connection Queue) will be used for the parent queue to allocate bandwidth among users, and the FIFO (First In, First Out) will be used for the child queue to ensure proper queuing of traffic. The Simple Queue will be utilized as the Queue Table to store the necessary information about each user’s connection and ensure effective traffic control based on their IP addresses.

Auto Sharing Auto sharing (if set to Byes) would allow the package to be shared amongst multiple users or devices. Burst Plan (if set to Yes) The Burst feature allows for the fulfillment of additional bandwidth requirements in a queue, even if the required rate exceeds the maximum limit (MIR) for a limited period of time.

Burst can only occur if the average rate of the queue over the past burst-time seconds is lower than the burst threshold. Burst will cease if the average rate of the queue over the past burst-time seconds is equal to or greater than the burst threshold.

The Burst mechanism operates as follows: when the burst is permitted, the max-limit value is replaced by the burst-limit value. When the burst is not allowed, the max-limit value remains unchanged. Reference https://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Queues_-_Burst

Bundled Package The Bundled Package combines multiple existing Queues (QoS) to create a customized bundle that aligns with the customer’s specific requirements or related needs.

Creating Bundled Package

Click the Add Package button
From the list of Package Type, select Bundled
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields

Bundled Packages -Dynamic Mode:

The bundled package can be used in dynamic mode, as it offers a wide range of features that allow for customizing data usage based on different days of the week. It allows you to specify specific start and end times on particular dates. Additionally, the bundled package can be utilized for marketing purposes to meet your customers’ needs.

Creating bundled packages:

Navigate to QOS Mode
Click the Add button
Enter bundled package name
Select Status: Active or Inactive
Set QOS MODE to Dynamic
Check the specific dates and indicate the time as required.

Top-up Recharge

Top-Up packages are utilized to add credit or increase the value of a customer’s existing plan or prepaid data plan. They provide individuals with the means to replenish their data balance, guaranteeing uninterrupted communication and access to a wide array of services.

Creating a Top-up package

Click the Add Package button
From the list Package Type select Top-Up Recharge
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields

Save once done.

otspot Package

The Hotspot packages are specifically designed, managed, and intended for the use of hotspot services. These packages are primarily dedicated to catering to the needs of hotspot users (customers).

Creating Hotspot packages

Click the Add Package button
From the list, Package Type select Hotspot Package
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields
Time Allocation allows you to add the package expiration in minutes
Device Limit = this the max devices the package can be used across.

Management Packages:

Management packages are designed with a specific focus on management purposes. These packages are implemented when there is a need to execute certain functions or address issues that may arise, such as disconnections. The management packages serve as a temporary solution until the issues are resolved.

Creating Management Packages

Click the Add Package button
From the list Package Type select Management Package
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields

Save entry once done

QoS Group:

QoS Group, short for Quality of Service Group, is a crucial aspect of network management that allows for efficient control and prioritization of network traffic. It provides a means to categorize and manage different types of data flows based on their specific requirements and priorities.

Create QoS Groups: _ Click the Add QoS Group button

Click the Add QoS Group button
Enter the Package Name (*)
Fill all required fields
Set Status to Active

Priority = highest priority is 1 while low priority is set to 8

QoS Mode

QoS modes are specifically designed to effectively manage your internet connectivity, particularly in scenarios where you have multiple upstream (service providers).

In WISPGate, there are three primary modes of QoS:

Percentage to Cut: This mode allows you to allocate data across your total received plan from the upstream service providers. For instance, if you have two upstreams and one of them experiences an outage, you can utilize this mode to cut a certain percentage (e.g., 50%) in order to fairly serve all your customers with the available service

Create a simple Percentage to Cut

Click Add under the QoS Modes
Enter QoS Mode
Set Mode to Static
Select the Mode Ratio to Percentage to Cut

Creating a Dynamic Percentage to Cut

Click Add under the QoS Modes
Enter QoS Mode
Set Mode to Dynamic
Select the Mode Ratio to Percentage to Cut
Set plan based on a weekly plan as shown

Percentage of Add:

This mode is useful for offering additional data to customers, such as during promotional campaigns or specific periods like weekends. It provides flexibility to allocate extra data based on your design and to enhance customer satisfaction.

Creating a simple Percentage of Add

Click Add under the QoS Modes
Enter QoS Mode
Set Mode to Static
Select the Mode Ratio to Percentage of Add