Traffic Shaping

Traffic shaping is a useful way to improve network performance by controlling the amount of data entering and leaving the network. Classify, queue, and direct traffic based on network policy

With new types of applications, traditional traffic shaping technology may be inadequate. The F5 BIG-IP® Local Traffic Manager provides a highly complex and granular traffic shaping technology, enhanced by specific business policies called iRules.

The most common type of traffic shaping is application-based traffic shaping. The fingerprinting tool is first used to identify the application associated with the packet. Based on this, a specific traffic shaping strategy is applied. For example, you can use application-based traffic shaping to limit maximum peer-to-peer file sharing while providing maximum bandwidth for business-critical applications such as lurking Voice over IP (VoIP). Many application protocols use encryption to avoid application - based traffic shaping. Route-based traffic shaping can be used to prevent applications from bypassing traffic shaping policies. Route-based traffic shaping applies a packet throttling policy based on the source and the expected destination of the packet's previous address.

Traffic shaping, also called packet shaping, is a sort of network bandwidth management used to manipulate and prioritize network traffic, reducing the impact of many use cases on other users. Traffic shaping identifies and classifies traffic flows by priority. High priority traffic is forwarded immediately and low priority traffic uses different methods for rate limiting. Traffic shaping can be centrally managed by traffic management and network management system to maintain network reliability, availability and smooth operation. As traffic pattern and network capacity requirements change, you can implement network control strategies as part of network automation strategy.

Traffic shaping (also called packet shaping) is a bandwidth management technique that delays the flow of certain types of network packets to ensure network performance for high priority applications. Traffic shaping inherently limits the amount of bandwidth that a particular type of application can consume. It is mainly used to guarantee high quality service against network traffic related to business. The most common type of traffic shaping is application-based traffic shaping. The fingerprinting tool is first used to identify the application associated with the packet. Based on this, a specific traffic shaping strategy is applied. For example, application-based traffic shaping can be used to limit maximum peer-to-peer file sharing while providing maximum bandwidth for business-critical applications such as potential Voice over IP (VoIP).