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Hey guys,

I live in a shared house with a small network of 4 different systems: 2 PCs, 1 Laptop and an XBOX 360 (which is sometimes swapped out for another laptop), all connected via ethernet cables to a Linksys BEFSR41 router, which is in turn connected to a cable modem for internet access.

A while back I was moaning to a friend about how our internet connection slows when others in the house are using P2P programs and taking up a large volume of the potential bandwidth. He told me about QOS (Quality of Service?) which would allow me to assign bandwidth equally among all the connected systems as opposed to a first come first served basis - i.e. whoever gets on first gets as much as they need, and everyone else gets whats left.

Can you tell me if this is the case?

I've had a good trawl through google for QOS setup guides with little to no luck, esp for small/simple home networks. Does anyone know where I could find some kinda guide to do this or even how I could do it myself?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thannks
James

PS If you need to know what system Im running please ask n I'll list it.
cheers

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Short summary and what the BEFSR41 can do (so the thread answers line up with and ): the BEFSR41 does include a built‑in QoS page in its web UI. It exposes three QoS modes (Device Priority, Ethernet‑Port Priority, and Application Priority), an Upstream Bandwidth field to limit egress, and an Incoming Rate Limit option for capping downloads. Those controls are basic but usable for a small house network. (manualslib.com)

How QoS actually helps in practice: consumer QoS mainly prioritizes traffic (gives some packets priority over others) — it does not increase total pipe capacity or magically “give everyone the same Mbps.” Controlling outgoing (upload/egress) traffic is where routers can be most effective; inbound/download control is harder unless the router deliberately limits incoming rate. For latency‑sensitive uses (Xbox/VoIP/gaming) prioritize that traffic and keep P2P upload from saturating the uplink. (pcworld.com)

Practical step‑by‑step that fits the BEFSR41 and a shared house with a P2P user:

  • Run a clean wired speed test to measure true upload capacity.
  • In the router UI go to Applications & Gaming → QoS, Enable QoS and set Upstream Bandwidth to a little under the measured upload (leave headroom). Use Device Priority to mark the Xbox (by MAC or static IP) High, or use Application Priority for gaming ports. Use Incoming Rate Limit only if downloads must be capped.
  • On any P2P clients set a global upload cap (BitTorrent’s guide recommends using ~70% of tested upload as a practical starting point). After changes, test latency during an active P2P run. (manualslib.com)

About third‑party firmware and upgrades: ’s tip to check Tomato/DD‑WRT is sensible for routers that support them, but the BEFSR41 revisions often have very small flash/RAM and are generally unsuitable for modern third‑party firmware — flashing attempts are unlikely or impossible. For consistent, per‑device fair‑share and modern SQM (CAKE/fq_codel) behaviour, replace the BEFSR41 with a recent router or one that runs OpenWrt/SQM. If replacement isn’t possible, the combination of BEFSR41 device/application prioritization + conservative P2P upload caps will usually resolve the worst slowdowns. (wikidevi.wi-cat.ru)

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Member Avatar for beard24

very tasty, lookin on ebay now.....

Member Avatar for zeroth

Please let us know how it works

Member Avatar for Arranmc182

Have you checked to see if third party Firmware is supported like Tomato or DD-WRT if so they have QoS Built in

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