How to keep below my bandwidth download cap and why does my ISP have such a huge difference in reported downloads from my monitor?

Question

I currently have a 10gb download cap on my broadband connection. Being a developer and a power user, this can be restrictive (Eg when I got Windows Server/Sharepoint etc ISOs from Microsoft Action Pack).

I installed the BMExtreme bandwith monitor (http://www.lp23.com/bmextreme/) and set the limit to 326 mb (10gb/m x 12 = 120gb / 365 = roughly 326mb) and set the option to terminate the connection if I am 5% within the limit, but yesterday past midnight (30 Dec) I downloaded 562mb whereas my monitor seemed a lot more accurate, incrementing by kb's. I downloaded some apps but the largest was 8mb (trying out different bandwidth monitors), and the rest were <1mb.

Why is there such a huge gap in the bandwidth downloaded between my monitor and my ISP?

-I play Xbox Live every now and then but how much bandwidth would this use? The games are visual and there is sound etc so I am assuming a lot?

-I download songs not very often now as there aren't good releases very often and I have all the old songs I like.

-Large downloads, like SQL Server, don't happen anymore, and when they will, I can kick them off after midnight and pause at 8 using a download manager (there are several big apps I need to get but I am either waiting for their release or don't need them just yet).

-What about MSN? I very rarely send or recieve files through this tool, but I am on it all day when at home, however it is all text.

-The tool I use has a checkbox to include internal network traffic. Is this a major factor? I have my PC, my dad has his laptop, both connected to the net.

-I have VMs and a VLAN, and the app I am using does pick the virtual network adapter up so I assume that all network traffic on the VMs (Eg when I start a VM and use the internet from it), is accounted for in the counter.

If anyone knows a better bandwidth monitor with support for setting caps between a time period and the ability to terminate the connection when within a certain percentage of it, or running a batch script, please let me know.

Thanks

Why is there such a huge gap in the bandwidth downloaded between my monitor and my ISP?

If anyone knows a better bandwidth monitor with support for setting caps between a time period and the ability to terminate the connection when within a certain percentage of it, or running a batch script, please let me know.

Thanks

Answer 1

My guess is that it would simply be things such as automatic updates and also, Xbox can actually take quite a bit of bandwidth (software updates excluded).

As for bandwidth monitor, you really need something that sits on the router, one that sits on your computer is not that reliable.

Lastly, I would do a Google on your ISP - if lots of other people are complaining and/or they are not reputable, it is possible that they are cheating you - otherwise, if they have been around for years and are a big one, I would just trust them and check regularly.

Answer 2

for most accurate reading i recommend NetLimiter Monitor (free),

you will get precise and reliable traffic statistics, per application, per hour, per day, you name it. of course this does not cover other appliances such as your xbox.

and are you sure you're allowance is 10 GB download and not 10 GB total traffic (which includes upload as well)?

last but not least, your own readings are pretty much irrelevant at the end of the day, your ISP should have a website where you can login and check your current traffic quota whenever you want.

Answer 3

To figure out why you and your ISP are showing such differences in data rates, you may need to attach some kind of sniffer to the line to count how much traffic is actually being transfered.

One hypothesis comes to mind is that the ISP may be counting packet size but your monitor is tracking application data. Depending on the nature of your traffic (small packets vs. large packets), those 40 bytes of IP and TCP headers can add up.

Answer 4

I heard about WebSpy Soho in a podcast. It is an application that monitors bandwidth usage and Internet connection speed. You can use it to be alerted when you are reaching your ISP quota and ensure you are charged the right amount.

It's similar to NetLimiter - I don't think it monitors Xbox but it seems pretty good to me.