View source for Training: Traffic Shaping

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'''Netgate pfSense Plus Fundamentals — Section 9: Traffic Shaping'''<br/>
<small>Training slide deck: FUND001-LIVE-SLIDE-SEG9-SHAPE.pdf</small>
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== Traffic Shaping — Overview ==

Traffic shaping is a form of '''managed unfairness of bandwidth'''. It helps avoid the default FIFO queueing behavior imposed by ISPs.

* '''Queues''' define traffic priorities.
* '''Rules''' assign traffic to queues.
* There are two separate methods for shaping:
** '''Limiters''' (dummynet pipes)
** '''Traffic Shaper''' (ALTQ)

== Limiters ==

Limiters provide a quick, easy means of imposing '''hard bandwidth limits'''.

* Can be applied on a '''group or per-IP basis'''.
* Optionally '''schedule-based'''.
* Advanced options include:
** Queue size
** Delay
** Packet Loss

== Traffic Shaping Rules ==

* Rules are evaluated from the '''point of view of traffic leaving an interface'''.
* Typically use '''floating rules''' to apply shaping.
* '''In/Out''' options under advanced rule options are used to assign queues.
* Matches only assign queues — they do not control access.

== Traffic Shaping Wizards ==

The wizards offer an easy way to implement queueing and attempt to automate common scenarios.

{| class="wikitable"
! Wizard Type !! Description
|-
| Multiple LAN/WAN || Most common scenario
|-
| Dedicated Links || For dedicated link configurations
|}

== Traffic Shaping Schedulers ==

Schedulers are methods of handling queueing. The following schedulers are available:

{| class="wikitable"
! Scheduler !! Notes
|-
| HFSC || Hierarchical Fair Service Curve
|-
| CBQ || Class-Based Queueing
|-
| FAIRQ || Legacy scheduler
|-
| CODELQ || Legacy scheduler
|-
| PRIQ || '''Easiest solution — recommended wherever possible'''
|}

== Section 9 Summary ==

* Try to keep configurations as simple as possible.
* Use '''PRIQ''' wherever possible.
* Limiter rules can be on a schedule.
* Limiters can be per-IP or per-network (masking).
* Ensure appropriate rule matches.
* Clear states if needed after making changes.
* Check the Traffic-Shaping section of the book for more details.

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'''Next Module:''' [[Training_Lab_9:_Traffic_Shaping|Lab 9 — Traffic Shaping (Hands-on)]]
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== Source Attribution ==

* '''Document:''' FUND001-LIVE-SLIDE-SEG9-SHAPE.pdf
* '''Course:''' pfSense Plus Fundamentals and Practical Applications
* '''Copyright:''' © 2017 Rubicon Communications, LLC dba Netgate
* '''Extracted and formatted for internal training wiki.'''