Hack24.Manage Bandwidth Costs

Hack 24. Manage Bandwidth Costs

The costs of running Skype can mount up if you pay for Internet traffic by the megabyte.

Works with: all versions of Skype.

Even when not making a call, Skype consumes about 0.5 kilobytes per second of bandwidth. If your machine has been designated a super node (incidentally, being a super node in the Skype network isn't really something over which you have any explicit controleither you are one, or you aren't), bandwidth consumption can jump tenfold to 5 kilobytes per second. Obviously, bandwidth consumption jumps considerably above these levels when making a call. However, the bandwidth consumed when Skype is idle can mount up.

Taking the worst-case scenario, suppose your machine lives in an almost permanent state of being a super node and that your call volume is a negligible proportion of the bandwidth consumed. Five kilobytes per second translates into about 13 gigabytes of data transfer per month.

In Europe, a monthly cap of 4 gigabytes on Internet traffic is not uncommon, and busting this cap can be expensive. If your PC is running constantly, and you use your Internet connection for other things besides Skype, it's not inconceivablethough it is perhaps unlikely, given that we're looking at the worst casethat Skype may push you over your cap.

Now, if your Internet is unmetered, this should not be a problem. However, if you pay for your Internet traffic by the megabyte or gigabyte, the costs of having Skype running continuously can mount up. People who connect to the Internet via satellite, for example, often have a comparatively low monthly data-transfer allowance and are charged a punitive rate for going over their limit.

Companies that deploy Skype to a large number of usersfor example, a call centerwill certainly want to keep an eye on how much bandwidth Skype consumes, especially if their call volume is high. Additional bandwidth costs effectively increase the cost of using Skype, so you should factor this into your decision to use Skype.

There are two parts to managing Skype's bandwidth costs: monitoring and metering.

2.13.1. Monitoring

Medium to large companies will no doubt have network monitoring tools already in place. For small companies and individuals, several commercial and free applications are available that will help you get a handle on your Internet connection usage patterns.

Google on "free network monitor" and you'll be presented with a long list of software tools, many of which are free.

If after an extensive period of monitoringsay, a monthyou determine that Skype is a problem, you should perhaps meter its use of your Internet connection.

Of course, if you've deemed that Skype bandwidth consumption is not a problem, you're free to move on to other things while enjoying Skype.

2.13.2. Metering

Metering bandwidth has two aspects.

Large organizations may choose to meter Internet bandwidth usage to allocate the costs of its use to departments in some proportion to its consumption. The biggest users of bandwidth get to pay most of the costs, and the smallest users pay a small proportion of the costs. This is a common approach in large organizations.

For small organizations and for individuals, metering is normally a means by which to throttle or choke off bandwidth. In this sense, metering is used to ration bandwidth consumption.

We will look at metering as a means of rationing bandwidth.

2.13.2.1. Run Skype only when needed.

Perhaps the simplest method of controlling Skype's consumption of bandwidth is to run it only when you need to make a call. If Skype isn't running, it isn't consuming bandwidth. It's as simple as that. Bear in mind, however, that you won't be able to receive any calls when Skype isn't running.

2.13.2.2. Run Skype for only a limited part of the day.

If you need Skype for only a limited part of the daysay, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or whatever your business hours areyou can start and stop Skype based on the time of day (see "Run Skype Based on Time of Day" [Hack #41]). That way, Skype will be running for only that part of the day for which you need it.

2.13.2.3. Ration bandwidth as part of a QoS plan.

Quality of Service (QoS) not only allows you to ration available bandwidth to Skype's advantage to improve its voice quality, but you can also use it to ration bandwidth consumption to manage costs (see "Improve Service Quality" [Hack #59]).