Bandwidth throttling settings specify the amount of bandwidth consumed by an Agent for backups and, in the case of most Agents, restores. For example, you might want to restrict the amount of bandwidth used for daytime backups so that online users are not affected, and allow unlimited bandwidth usage at night so that scheduled backups run as fast as possible.
Bandwidth throttling values are set at the computer (Agent) level for most Agents, and apply to both backups and restores. If three jobs are running at the same time on the same computer, each job gets 1/3 of the specified maximum bandwidth. For the Hyper-V Agent, bandwidth throttling is applied at the Host level, and applies only to backups. If three VMs are being backed up on a node, each gets 1/3 of the specified maximum bandwidth on the node. The total bandwidth sent to the vault can be as high as the specified maximum multiplied by the number of nodes where the Host service is installed.
Bandwidth settings include:
•Maximum bandwidth (upper limit), in megabits per second, to be consumed by the Agent for all backups and restores
•Period of time during the day that throttling is in effect. Only one time window can be specified. Outside the window, no throttling takes place.
•Days of the week that throttling is in effect
If the bandwidth throttling time period begins when a backup is underway, the maximum bandwidth is applied dynamically to the running backup. Similarly, if the bandwidth throttling time period ends when a backup is running, bandwidth throttling is ended for the backup.
If you edit an Agent’s bandwidth settings while a backup is running, the new Agent settings do not affect the backup that is running. Bandwidth settings are applied when a backup starts, and are not applied to backups that are already running.
If a policy is assigned to a computer, bandwidth throttling settings cannot be modified on the Computers page. Instead, settings can only be added or modified in the policy. See Policy execution priority and bandwidth options.
To configure bandwidth throttling:
1. On the navigation bar, click Computers.
2. Find the computer for which you want to configure bandwidth throttling, and click the row to expand its view.
3. Click the Advanced tab, click the Performance tab, and then edit the bandwidth settings.
If a policy is assigned to the computer or protected environment, you cannot add or change values on the Performance tab. Instead, bandwidth settings can only be modified in the policy.