# Bandwidth Usage



## HalfEatenPie (Dec 29, 2014)

Alright folks!

So I thought might as well ask...  What does everyone do that uses up bandwidth?

The biggest offenders for me are mostly scientific data (previously) downloading and streaming netflix.  In terms of my Dedicated servers and VPSes, probably just routine backups and storage, although recently a few gameservers I've started running are guzzling up bandwidth.  

But I average around 300 GB of bandwidth at home, and a max of 500 GB during peak months (downloading linux ISOs while reformatting desktops and whatnot).  Anyone do anything interesting with their bandwidth?  I mean I bet a decent amount of people torrent and run tor exit nodes/tor relays, but I've never seen anything else that's really bandwidth intensive.


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## Kayaba Akihiko (Dec 29, 2014)

Don't get why downloading Linux isos will add ~200GB to your bandwidth usage...


As for me I rarely go above 100GB cause I usually don't stream much (Netflix doesn't work in Singapore and VPNs are too damn slow) My peak usage was around 300GB, I was doing some hardcore torrenting then, Linux ISOs of course(cough cough)


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## GIANT_CRAB (Dec 29, 2014)

Streaming web radio and videos can eat 20TB+ monthly. Hosting game servers would be around 2TB for me.


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## mikeyur (Dec 29, 2014)

Seeding linux ISOs uses a lot.. can push ~25-30TB/mo between everyones favourite french dedi providers.

Plex Media Server (for friends & family) uses a bit (400GB to 1TB). VPN is 150-300GB/mo.

Websites, staging boxes, etc. are only a few hundred gigs a month combined. Backups use maybe 20-30GB/mo in a busy month, and then another 2-3x for backup replication.

My team pushes a few hundred gigs to 1TB/mo via their remote desktops (downloading + uploading things to youtube, photos and other client data via Dropbox - modifying and re-uploading).

Home (/Office) usage is 350-400GB/mo.


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## HalfEatenPie (Dec 29, 2014)

Kayaba Akihiko said:


> Don't get why downloading Linux isos will add ~200GB to your bandwidth usage...
> 
> 
> As for me I rarely go above 100GB cause I usually don't stream much (Netflix doesn't work in Singapore and VPNs are too damn slow) My peak usage was around 300GB, I was doing some hardcore torrenting then, Linux ISOs of course(cough cough)


haha.  Well I guess that was a one-time thing.  I ended up downloading a few versions of Ubuntu and a ton of other Linux distributions to try and see which one i'm more comfortable using for a desktop system.  For example, while I like ElementaryOS's UI, it doesn't do well integrating with software that isn't commonly used (e.g. GRASS GIS systems, since ElementaryOS was mostly designed to be used for more personal stuff (email, web, docs, etc.).  



VenexCloud_Huiren said:


> Streaming web radio and videos can eat 20TB+ monthly. Hosting game servers would be around 2TB for me.


Hm.  Damn.  How much content do you consume?  Even with streaming I barely go over 300 GB.  A few of my Gameservers are projected to use around 200 GB of bandwidth each per month (at max capacity).  While it isn't a small turkey, I never thought it'd take up to 2 TB of bandwidth, although I can see how it can stack up if you have multiple instances set up.  



mikeyur said:


> Seeding linux ISOs uses a lot.. can push ~25-30TB/mo between everyones favourite french dedi providers.
> 
> Plex Media Server (for friends & family) uses a bit (400GB to 1TB). VPN is 150-300GB/mo.
> 
> ...


Wowza.  Love those numbers.  Thanks for sharing.  

I have a plex server up but I've essentially stopped using it after I just started using my netflix subscription more.  My VPN uses way less than 300 GB of data.  

Your remote desktop sessions must be quite beefy (as you said, downloading and uploading things).  My remote desktop session used a max of 30 GB of bandwidth this month.  

Damn I originally thought my internet usage was pretty heavy, but I see you guys beat me by a ton!


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## mikeyur (Dec 29, 2014)

HalfEatenPie said:


> Wowza.  Love those numbers.  Thanks for sharing.
> 
> I have a plex server up but I've essentially stopped using it after I just started using my netflix subscription more.  My VPN uses way less than 300 GB of data.
> 
> ...


Even with both Canadian + US Netflix, not everything I want is always there - but most of that usage is via friends and family, sharing with at least 12 or 13 folks by now (so 30-80GB/mo per person, which isn't too crazy). Usage is heavier this month since my younger cousins aren't in school and everyone else has time off, so lots of movies & TV shows being streamed.

VPN was an estimate and needs to be cut in half, most of the providers I use for a VPN count in + outbound. I run through VPN at least half my work day, for testing stuff based on GEO and to avoid some of my ISP's shitty peering.

Got 5 or 6 remote desktops setup currently for the team in the Philippines + Mexico. I have a feeling a couple are using it for more than just work.. but whatever, the box is only 40-50% utilized at peak.


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## HalfEatenPie (Dec 29, 2014)

mikeyur said:


> Even with both Canadian + US Netflix, not everything I want is always there - but most of that usage is via friends and family, sharing with at least 12 or 13 folks by now (so 30-80GB/mo per person, which isn't too crazy). Usage is heavier this month since my younger cousins aren't in school and everyone else has time off, so lots of movies & TV shows being streamed.
> 
> VPN was an estimate and needs to be cut in half, most of the providers I use for a VPN count in + outbound. I run through VPN at least half my work day, for testing stuff based on GEO and to avoid some of my ISP's shitty peering.
> 
> Got 5 or 6 remote desktops setup currently for the team in the Philippines + Mexico. I have a feeling a couple are using it for more than just work.. but whatever, the box is only 40-50% utilized at peak.


Dang.  Ok yeah with multiple users then I definitely see how it can stack up (and especially with seasonal timing).

I guess I'm just not a big consumer of TV and Movies.  I mean I'd binge watch a TV Show on Netflix if it's really good (House of Cards!!!) but at max I might watch a movie every other month.  

I'd use a VPN more frequently if there was an actually decent VPN service with great bandwidth to me geographically.


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## TekStorm - Walter (Jan 14, 2015)

I have anumber of users and it eat it up, i need to find a solution that will give everyone what they need and not cause slow downs.


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## drmike (Jan 14, 2015)

I need to get a nice gateway in place for sanity and general traffic stuff.... so no active numbers from me.

I heavily use VPN and multiple VPNS.   Probably pushing 200GB+ over that a month.

Pushing a lot more direct over various other devices for video though.

Part of getting gateway in middle is to deal with QoS since I am at top plan tier for throughput which should have ample headroom.  But my upstream sucks horrendously and fails to deliver more than 10% throughput during peak hours.

So QoS will be a bandaid until they fix their shit and upgrade pipes already.


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