• SonicOS 7 Action Objects
• App Rule Actions
  • About Action Objects
    • About System Predefined Default Action Objects
    • About Action Types for Custom Action Objects
  • About Actions Using Bandwidth Management
    • Bandwidth Management Methods
  • Creating an Action Object
  • Modifying an Action Object
  • Related Tasks for Actions Using Packet Monitoring
• Content Filter Actions
  • About Content Filter Objects
  • About CFS Action Objects
  • About the Passphrase Feature
  • About the Confirm Feature
  • About UUIDs for CFS Objects
  • Managing CFS Action Objects
    • About the CFS Action Objects Table
    • Configuring CFS Action Objects
      • Block Option
      • Passphrase Option
      • Confirm Option
      • BWM Option
      • Threat API Option
    • Editing CFS Action Objects
    • Deleting CFS Action Objects
    • Applying Content Filter Objects
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

About Actions Using Bandwidth Management

Application layer bandwidth management (BWM) allows you to create policies that regulate bandwidth consumption by specific file types within a protocol, while allowing other file types to use unlimited bandwidth. This enables you to distinguish between desirable and undesirable traffic within the same protocol. Application layer bandwidth management is supported for all Application matches, as well as custom App Rules policies using HTTP client, HTTP Server, Custom, and FTP file transfer types. For details about policy types, see Policy > App Rules > Add App Rule section.

As a best practice, configuring the global Bandwidth Management settings on the Object > Profile Objects > Bandwidth page should always be done before configuring any BWM policies.

Action Objects Page with Bandwidth Management Type

Application layer bandwidth management configuration is handled in the same way as Access Rule bandwidth management configuration. However, with App Rules you can specify all content type, which you cannot do with access rules.

For a bandwidth management use case, as an administrator you might want to limit .mp3 and executable file downloads during work hours to no more than 1 Mbps. At the same time, you want to allow downloads of productive file types such as .doc or .pdf up to the maximum available bandwidth, or even give the highest possible priority to downloads of the productive content. As another example, you might want to limit bandwidth for a certain type of peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic, but allow other types of P2P to use unlimited bandwidth. Application layer bandwidth management allows you to create policies to do this.

A number of BWM action options are also available in the predefined, default action list. The BWM action options change depending on the Bandwidth Management Type setting on the Object > Profile Objects Bandwidth page.

Guaranteed bandwidth for all levels of BWM combined must not exceed 100%.