Hogelimiters

Hogelimiters are a concept in computer science, specifically within the realm of network congestion control. The term "hogelimiter" is a portmanteau of "hog" and "limiter," suggesting a mechanism designed to prevent a particular entity or process from consuming an excessive amount of a shared resource. In essence, hogelimiters are a form of rate limiting or bandwidth throttling applied to individual connections or applications that are deemed to be "hogging" the network.

The primary purpose of hogelimiting is to ensure fair resource allocation and prevent network performance degradation for other users. When a connection or application exceeds a predefined threshold for bandwidth usage, a hogelimiter can be triggered to reduce its transmission rate. This prevents a single heavy user from monopolizing the available bandwidth, thereby improving the overall user experience for everyone on the network.

Hogelimiters can be implemented in various ways, often at the router or firewall level. They might operate based on factors such as the IP address of the source, the type of traffic, or the overall volume of data being transmitted. The specific parameters and enforcement mechanisms of a hogelimiter can be configured by network administrators to suit the needs of their particular environment. While effective in managing network resources, the implementation of hogelimiters can sometimes be perceived as restrictive by users experiencing reduced speeds.