NetEqualizer News Blog

Editor’s Note: We’ve created this page to conveniently compile information on all of our NetEqualizer software updates into one place. As mentioned elsewhere, the NetEqualizer is constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing demands of the IT industry. For more information about any of the updates listed here, or previous updates, contact us at admin@apconnections.net.

Update 4.0 — Carrier-Class Shaping

Continuing the constant evolution of the NetEqualizer line, we’re pleased to offer the most recent NetEqualizer software release – Carrier Class 4.0. In addition to providing the features and quality found in past NetEqualizer releases, among its many enhancements Carrier Class 4.0 will now support three times as many shaping buffers, translating into smoother shaping for up to tens of thousands of users.

For example, you will be able to take a one-gigabit pipe and break off 1,000 users into a subnet mask to share 100 megabits (with smoother results than current versions). Most routers that break out chunks of bandwidth use harsh rate control methods such as dropping packets when the limit is reached. Although there will be a small margin of error, the optimizations and techniques used to break off larger chunks of bandwidth and shape them smoothly without dropping packets rivals that of carrier class shapers sold for 10 times our cost.

The following features and enhancements will also be available with Carrier Class 4.0:

• Full one- to 32-bit mask fields for hard limits  — You can now take any IP address and specify a mask in x.x.x.x/y format where y is the number of bits you wish to mask. All IP addresses in the masked range will receive the specified hard limit (Hard limits are individual rate limits for an IP address).
• Pools support masks – You can now add members to a bandwidth pool using a mask field of the form x.x.x.x/y, Y can range from one to 32. The NetEqualizer will automatically add members of the range specified as they become active and retire them if they become inactive. This optimization will allow users to specify large ranges without overwhelming the system.
• Full one- to 32-bit masking for traffic masking – You can now use the NetEqualizer masking function with odd numbered mask specifications, prior to this release only /24 and /16 masks were allowed.
• Pool number displayed in active connection table – You can now see if a connection is part of a pool, the pool number will be displayed in the last column of the connection table.
• Release 1.0 of our URL-based blocking feature – Now you can block a list of URL’s. This feature is commonly used by libraries and private institutions where there is a mandate to block particular recreational sites. In the initial release, customers need only supply a config file with all URLs by name that they wish to block and then hit the start button. In future releases, we will be contracting with providers that supply updated lists on a regular basis. There will be no charge to enable our URL-blocking feature, however there will likely be subscription charges to use third party URL lists.
• Connection limit masks now fully supported – You can specify a connection limit mask of the form x.x.x.x/y where y is an int from one to 32. Prior to this release, only /24 and /26 were supported.
• New Automatic detection of license overruns – The NetEqualizer will now automatically report any new license overruns. Any time you log into the GUI, a message will be displayed indicating how many license overruns you may have incurred since your last reboot. If you do see a license overrun, you should call support and see about upgrading your license.
• New license levels available for enforcement in kernel
• URL-based shaping

For more information on the Carrier Class 4.0 update, contact us at admin@apconnections.net or 303-997-1300.

Update 3.32a/b — NetEqualizer Software Update Improves VLAN Shaping, NTOP

June 9, 2009

We recently released our newest NetEqualizer software update, further improving on our existing technology. The following fixes have been implemented from the the previous 2.43k version to the latest 3.32a.

1. Upgraded internal disk memory caching. This feature remedied an issue with NTOP that was causing disk corruptions on the CF drive.
2. Subnet masking was modified such that masked traffic will not count against your license level. Prior to this change, a customer with a 10-meg license who ran 100 meg local transfers across their NetEqualizer would experience a license violation. You can now mask that traffic (make it invisible to the NetEqualizer and hence not violate your license).
3. A bug fix was put in for customers who run asymmetric pools. Bandwidth pools with different upload and download speeds were not working correctly prior to this fix.
4. VLAN shaping fix. There was an issue on cold restarts.
5. Support for multi-core CPU
6. More efficient connection limit processing

This software update is available without charge for NetEqualizer customers with a current NetEqualizer Software Subscription (NSS). For more information on this update, or the NSS, contact us at admin@apconnections.net.