p2pshaper is a Linux script designed to improve QoS for slow network connections overloaded with p2p applications. The software works to maintain low latency and enhance fairness.
With this latest release, p2pshaper has made numerous improvements since the 1.3 test version. Previously, networks with high p2p traffic often made interactive traffic (such as ssh) and web browsing difficult or even impossible. Network administrators would resort to shutting down p2p traffic entirely or only allowing internet connections through a proxy server. But this solution breaks many useful programs, and not all p2p traffic is evil.
P2pshaper offers an effective solution to the problem. The tool marks traffic coming to specific ports (i.e., emule ports) and ensures that the packets are of lower priority. However, with a huge number of p2p clients and different port ranges, this solution is no longer adequate. Better packet markers are necessary to optimize network traffic.
Currently, there are two versions of p2pshaper available - version one and version two - that work differently. Choosing which version to use depends on your needs and the functionality you require. Version two is not necessarily "better" than version one, but both versions have their benefits.
The latest release of p2pshaper includes several new features, such as unified patches against recent kernels. This makes patching kernels easier, so the installation of p2pshaper is smoother. In addition, normal connections will never get into the lowest priority band, a feature that was introduced in the 1.4.1 release. This ensures that normal traffic is not hindered by evil traffic marked by l7_filter, ipp2p or band8ports.
Overall, p2pshaper is an excellent tool for regulating bandwidth and ensuring good latency and fairness on your network. It is easy to install and offers many new features that increase its usefulness. If you are experiencing problems with slow network connections, p2pshaper may be the solution you need.
Version 1.4.2: N/A