Limit bandwidth to game console without router?

Without control over the client device or the network router, the only solution is to introduce a middling device that you do have control over.

Access Point

The easiest device to introduce from a networking perspective is an access-point as they are designed simply to extend existing networks rather than provide packet routing. However, bandwidth throttling is considered an 'advanced' feature in these types of devices and is, therefore, quite expensive. In fact, I don't know of any consumer access-points that support throttling.

Second Router

So, I suggest you get a second router. There are two ways to do this depending on the features provided by your ISP router:

ISP Pass-through

If your ISP's router supports 'modem-mode', then enabling this will allow you to setup your new router as the sole router for your LAN. You can then deploy a router with the functionality you want whilst still using the ISP router as the modem. However, not all ISP routers have this feature.

Multi-Layered NAT

A more universal solution is to create a new subnet, like so:

                   Network B                     Network A
                  192.168.2.x                   192.168.1.x
Client Device ------------------- Router B ------------------- ISP Router ----- Internet
 192.168.2.87                    192.168.1.2                   Public IP

You can then connect any devices that you want to throttle to Router B and configure the bandwidth limits from the Router B management interface. Devices that you do not want to throttle can still be connected to Router A.

This solution involves multi-layered NAT; this has some drawbacks as discussed here. However, a home network is unlikely to encounter any issues.

Marvin

Posted 2016-10-01T23:02:37.867

Reputation: 201

Would you know of any software (access point or full blown router) that can do throttling, preferably for Linux? – Jabey – 2016-10-02T00:33:38.497

I would suggest second router as well. It should have ethernet port for WAN uplink, you can cascade and use it only for your console, I wouldn't use it for anything else because it would introduce another hop and some delay. A home type router with no WiFi should be available for less than 50 bucks. If you would like to DIY, you need a computer (or a board like Raspberry Pi) with two ethernet ports, one will act as WAN, other like LAN. Second one is more fun of course. – sdkks – 2016-10-02T02:09:17.413

@in3D The feature you are looking for is called 'Bandwidth Management' or 'Bandwidth Control' and, optionally, you could look for addition QoS features if you wanted greater control over packet prioritisation. TP-link are quite cost effective and they seem to have bandwidth control built into their firmware; so you would probably look for something like the Archer C50 (http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-9_Archer-C50.html#specifications) which retails at about £40. See http://www.tp-link.com/en/faq-557.html for the relevant FAQ.

– Marvin – 2016-10-02T07:53:49.433

@in3D Providing that you really don't care much about the transfer speeds for the games console, a 10/100 router such as the C50 will save you some money. If you want good transfer speeds for the console then you would want a gigabit router which, in the TP-Link catalog, would be something like the Archer C5 (http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-9_Archer-C5.html#specifications) which retails at about £75.

– Marvin – 2016-10-02T08:06:41.020