The process of manipulating, managing or controlling (shaping) portions of a
network connection to the outside world and determining an allowed
bandwidth consumption based on types of activities. The term is commonly used in
conjunction with Internet Service Providers (ISP), where it refers to a tool
that is used to limit or direct bandwidth consumption by users. An ISP may use bandwidth
shaping to limit a users ability to take too much control over the internet
gateway. Bandwidth shaping is also called bandwidth allocation or
referred to as a bandwidth managementtool.
UW use of Cisco-router traffic shaping In 2001 the University of Waterloo began using the Cisco IOS CB-WFQ/WRED (Class-Based Weighted Fair Queuing with Weighted Random Early Detection) "bandwidth shaping" mechanisms to define user-constituency traffic classes (ResNet and non-ResNet) and ensure fair-share consumption of UW's Internet link when it is saturated.
VoIP & Gadget Blog Prioritizing VoIP traffic and performing bandwidth shaping is key to a successful VoIP deployment.
