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[SuperW2]

I got the call from Comcast last month that said I used too much bandwidth and I'd be shut off if I went over again.

I have 5 PC's on my home network that share the connection coming thru my DGL-4500.  I know some of the custom firmware's for other devices have this and it doesn't seem it would be that hard to implement... I just need a running monthly total of how much WAN Internet traffic up and down, nothing fancy, no graphs or charts, just a # (and a email when a threshold is reached would be nice too)

[NKYadav]

Hmmm - I'm with Cox, and I haven't gotten that call (yet!) - and I have used well over 100 Gb in a month before....

Of course, I am on their top residential tier, so, that may make a difference....

But I'll still vote +1 for WAN BW usage monitoring....

[SuperW2]

Hmmm - I'm with Cox, and I haven't gotten that call (yet!) - and I have used well over 100 Gb in a month before....

Of course, I am on their top residential tier, so, that may make a difference....

But I'll still vote +1 for WAN BW usage monitoring....

Comcast gives you 250gb/mth before the first warning and you don't get a second one, just turned off for 12 months.  They claimed I was at something like 700GB for a month (which I find hard to believe), and they don't give you a way to self monitor your usage.

[NKYadav]

You'd have to be viewing a *lot* of videos and downloading a *lot* of stuff for usage like that lol.

[Fatman]

That is not nearly as much as it sounds like.  It really just depends what you do online.

The aggrevatingly nitpicking portion of my brain would look at your contract and see if a limit is specified (I have never heard of there actually being one) and then intentionally go over (preferably by downloading and seeding every variation of my favourite distro 24/7 so they can't claim copyright violations are implicit) so I can call them threaten to sue and get my net turned back on with a few months free (though I am good at yelling, YMMV).  Unless you agreed to such limits (in your contract) imposing them is at the very least questionable.  That said I would already have another provider lined up if I got as much as a warning from my ISP about such hijinx.

That said, good luck getting this feature, it is one that makes a whole lot more sense than a lot of requests I see.

[anon]

You can get some software that can do something similar, but it would have to be put on all PCs. This way you could get a sense of where you're at.

[Lufercian]

There is a 250GB a month limitation.
http://www.comcast.net/terms/network/amendment/

[Fatman]

well that makes it pretty clear.  Thanks Lufercian.

P.S. I read Luciferian several times, it was only when I went to make sure I had spelled your name right I realized it wasn't based on the morning star at all.

[Lycan]

I'd boycott thier service. I'd use DSL before I'd ever let a ISP tell me what I can and can't do with the internet connection I pay for.

[Fatman]

Well I am right there with you Lycan, however unless we can get millions to jump ship with us we are kinda not going to make much of a wave.  Good thing I have a TW business account at home.

[FrostyWolf]

I've said this once on this forum and I'll say it again, its really sad this modem does not have this feature yet.  Allmost all broadband companies have bandwidth restictions now.  Aircards, DSL, cable, you name it.  Even if you don't think your current ISP has one, check again, they probably do.  Banwidth is a almost impossible thing to montior properly on a multi PC network.  Theres software you can install, but it would have to go on every computer.  On top of that, all the software I have seen counts LAN traffic also with its numbers, so if you transfer 20 gigs between PC's, well, there goes your total, and on top of THAT, if your streaming netflics or running anything else to a device that doesnt have windows or osx or whatever on it, like a 360, your cant even install the software.  Having this feature on the router is the best way to watch your banwidth.  I still can't get over its not on the router with the 200 dollar price tag.   I am still waiting for it to be added.  I have a network with 4 PC's, one laptop, 360, wii, ps3 and misc other wireless devices (like at DS/PSP) and have people come over on a weekly basis for lans.  I tear thru banwidth like wet toliet paper.  This NEEDS to get added.

[anon]

Ask for a higher tier. Yes, it is that simple. If you’re blowing through the cap now, having a monitor won’t do a thing. On the other hand if you’re just slightly going over it then I can understand that.

Shouldn’t it be requested from the provider (the ones who set the cap) to issue some form of a monitoring feature?

I don’t understand why a $200 router not being able to show you the bandwidth being used is news to you. Show me one that does now… and I’ll show you your new router.

[swears]

I'm all for bandwidth monitoring as I noted here:

http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=5975.msg35733#msg35733

[Lycan]

I've said this once on this forum and I'll say it again, its really sad this modem does not have this feature yet.  Allmost all broadband companies have bandwidth restictions now.  Aircards, DSL, cable, you name it.  Even if you don't think your current ISP has one, check again, they probably do.  Banwidth is a almost impossible thing to montior properly on a multi PC network.  Theres software you can install, but it would have to go on every computer.  On top of that, all the software I have seen counts LAN traffic also with its numbers, so if you transfer 20 gigs between PC's, well, there goes your total, and on top of THAT, if your streaming netflics or running anything else to a device that doesnt have windows or osx or whatever on it, like a 360, your cant even install the software.  Having this feature on the router is the best way to watch your banwidth.  I still can't get over its not on the router with the 200 dollar price tag.   I am still waiting for it to be added.  I have a network with 4 PC's, one laptop, 360, wii, ps3 and misc other wireless devices (like at DS/PSP) and have people come over on a weekly basis for lans.  I tear thru banwidth like wet toliet paper.  This NEEDS to get added.

This will probably not happen. Unless Comcast makes it a requirement for routers that are on their network to offer this feature. I can ask if you like but the odds of something like this being added are slim.
 As for caps on bandwidth, it only usually happens by large cable networks where they know they are the only venue for that pipe size in town. For instance in Huntington Beach, Ca Time Warner is doing battle with Verizon for customers. Neither would dream of capping download, as it would create a flow of customers to the other ISP.

Caps in general are wrong, changing our hardware to allow ISP's to be greedy is wrong. As I previously stated, I'd go with a slower DSL connection before I ever let an ISP tell me what to do with my bandwidth.

Lastly if an ISP is going to make a cap on their network, then THEY should provide you with a way to monitor the account via a web portal or at the modem itself, thats like having a bank account and not being able to check the balance. Expecting 3rd party vendors that have nothing to do with the ISP to handle this for you is kinda silly. If the ISP can see your monthly download, then they need to make that available to you. Not doing so and busting you for it seems like entrapment to me.

[Fatman]

So the solution is to move to Huntington Beach, CA?