Bandwidth Pooling

Bandwidth pooling is utilized in devices called network stitches for optimizing the usage of network resources. It allows for the processing cards of the switches to be shared by the cards of the physical interface. This is a unique form of innovation that frees the resources of the switches that could be stranded when the interface cards of lower rates are deployed for an aggregation switch.

When it comes to dedicated hosting, bandwidth pooling is nothing short of an important mechanism for buyer hosting. This is done for determining which one of the provider is offering the correct mechanism for pricing when it comes to determining the pricing for bandwidth. Most hosting providers dealing with dedicated hosting will be bundling the bandwidth pricing with the monthly prices charged for the private and dedicated server alone.

Sometimes several users wish to gain access to particular content or make their bandwidth available to others. Thus a pool of bandwidths is created from which resources are distributed to people comprising the pool. This is mostly achieved using an application, the access to which can be provided at either client’s end or the provider or both. The app can be configured in such a way that pool requests are received and catered to only those who satisfy certain predefined criteria such as grouped users, users that are at the same location, users connected on social platforms, etc. Besides, the admins are also provided options to decline requests raised, or to decline memberships to people.

Users are not added until consent from the admin. Often times, members are added only by the admin and no other user.

Bandwidth pooling makes more sense with mobile data. Broadband users are less likely to share their bandwidth because doing so would destroy the entire purpose of opting for broadband. Number 1 reason why people opt for broadband is to have uncompromised speed and data available at all time. Broadband connections have been used by enterprises and typically businesses. Thus, it makes no sense to share such high-speed connection and jeopardize speed and data availability when the same is a requirement. 

Mobile data, on the other hand, is at least 10 times slower (on an average) than typical broadband. Thus, it is logical for mobile users to collaborate and pool together the bandwidth and redistribute it based on individual requirements. Mobile service providers are often seen restricting data speed and bandwidth per connection. A majority of the people run out of mobile data way before the plan validity, while some aren’t able to use even half of their total data bundle. 

Service providers have been known to levy additional charges, which could be twice as high as the base rate. Once data usage limit is exceeded, the service provider takes further necessary actions such as reduction in speed, levying exorbitantly high charges and whatnot. 

Mobile data is therefore not just inconvenient but also not affordable. Thus, bandwidth pooling is a safe exit for heavy mobile data consumers. This also seems practical and is corroborated with what’s in practice.

How Bandwidth pooling is done…

Members in a bandwidth pool can fetch individual content sections and share them locally with all the other members. This drastically reduces both downloadable data and bandwidth. Thus, more bandwidth is available to each user. With the amount of data to be downloaded reduced, the speed of connection is increased significantly. 

There are several use cases where the concept of bandwidth pooling applies and can help with a better understanding –

Streaming contents while on a poor network 

Joe wants to stream an episode of Lucifer from Netflix but is on a somewhat low-bandwidth connection. He is close to a few other users, with access to wireless web service providers. He proposes these users to join him in his bandwidth pool, to which the users agree. 

Users that did consent to the request he had raised downloaded parts of the video along with her, thereby transferring those parts to an extremely fast LAN. 

Say, user 1 downloaded season 1, user 2 downloaded season 2 and so on. Since all the files are now available, the seasons can be stitched together to form a single file with all the episodes.

A more tedious approach to bandwidth pooling could have been downloading a single episode in multiple sections. Of course, these sections cannot be compiled manually intone but would require a more sophisticated program. Still, it is possible and has been in practice for long.