The Setting - DownloadTypes
Once the download has been matched to a TypeData and assigned a TypeID the next section of the XML is parsed to set the StifleRPriority. This can then be used to give a recognizable description to the download, allocate a priority to the job, and even to allocate specific bandwidth to a certain download type.
Assigning Priority and Description
StifleRPriority= and Name=
The StifleRPriority value is simply the priority given to a particular job in relation to other jobs. The lower the StifleRPriority value, the higher the priority.
Using our previous example, the download matched TypeID=”209” which, we can see above, is assigned StifleRPriority="1000". There is also the option to set a Name for the job, which will be displayed in the StifleR Dashboard, in this case "CM Required TS"
Looking further down the list we can see:
As you can note from Name="CM Required Application this is a Configuration Manager Required Application which in the default StifleRulez.xml file it will be configured with StifleRPriority="2000" meaning that it has a lower priority than the Name="CM Required TS" and will throttle down until the other completes.
Assigning Auxiliary Bandwidth – Bandwidth=
StifleR can assign bandwidth to clients that are NOT Red Leader, based on the StifleR rules. This can be useful, for instance, if you wish to allow certain download types to use more than the default NonRedLeader Bandwidth amount.
Important: The Red Leader for a subnet will always use the Target Bandwidth amount for that subnet. The Auxiliary Bandwidth should be used carefully as it contributes to bandwidth use, over and above, the target bandwidth.
Use Case:
Auxiliary Bandwidth can be used to ‘boost’ certain types of download so that a particular download type does not become ‘stuck’ in a queue behind a Red Leader download. A prime candidate for this would be ‘User Initiated’ downloads where the user expects to see progress in the UI. Using the Auxiliary Bandwidth then allows the download to proceed alongside the Red Leader download bandwidth.
Usage:
A user-initiated download is matched as follows to TypeID="212"
This TypeID has been assigned a Priority, Name AND Bandwidth as follows
This is an example where a Download Type has been allocated 512Kbs bandwidth – even if the system is not a Red Leader.
Tip: If you think that there will be a lot of these types of download, you may wish to reduce the Target Bandwidth for that location accordingly so that the cumulative Auxiliary Bandwidth does not impact adversely on network performance.
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