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I hate this aspect of modern computing…Time was, you could look over at your firewall, or notice that the local network was running like crap…but Google (and fo

I hate this aspect of modern computing…Time was, you could look over at your firewall, or notice that the local network was running like crap…but Google (and for this post, Comcast/Xfinity) have GOBS of capacity. It’s easy to manage costs when your bandwidth is constrained to a relatively low rate… That super high speed 1Gb fiber connection? The one that STILL has the 1Tb/Mo cap? You can blow through it in an afternoon with one poorly constrained app (e.g. Torrenting) Same here. Google has _company ending_ amounts of bandwidth in their datacenters and you can lose everything without knowing it. (See also medical billing)

rkangel 3y ago
I think there is a problem here, but I don't think think that's the right problem. Not having these arbitrary technical limits is a good thing - for instance their service didn't degrade due to an unrelated problem. Regulating cost indirectly via some other metric is a very oblique way of solving the problem The right solution would be throttling of spending - easy way to set proper limits, good notifications etc. It's possible to set up all these limits but nowhere near as easy as it should be. Also, how easy would it be for Google to send you an email saying "your spend looks a bit different than normal due to this traffic here"!
amelius 3y ago
Bandwidth shaping/traffic control in Linux is not very mature. But yes, Google and others should implement a cap.
_fat_santa 3y ago
From personal experience, paying Xfinity an extra $30 or so per month to get the cap taken off was one of the first "upgrades" I made to my internet. Between me pulling node_modules for multiple projects and watching Netflix, I usually blow through the 1TB cap in the first 10 or so days.
- Clamchop 3y ago
  I have an unlimited plan (Cox) and they've threatened to terminate me before during a period of high usage. (I was initializing an off-site backup.) Vague language about QoS for other customers in their terms of service, so at their discretion. My dislike of ISPs is evergreen.

rkangel 3y ago

I think there is a problem here, but I don't think think that's the right problem. Not having these arbitrary technical limits is a good thing - for instance their service didn't degrade due to an unrelated problem. Regulating cost indirectly via some other metric is a very oblique way of solving the problem The right solution would be throttling of spending - easy way to set proper limits, good notifications etc. It's possible to set up all these limits but nowhere near as easy as it should be. Also, how easy would it be for Google to send you an email saying "your spend looks a bit different than normal due to this traffic here"!

amelius 3y ago

Bandwidth shaping/traffic control in Linux is not very mature. But yes, Google and others should implement a cap.

_fat_santa 3y ago

From personal experience, paying Xfinity an extra $30 or so per month to get the cap taken off was one of the first "upgrades" I made to my internet. Between me pulling node_modules for multiple projects and watching Netflix, I usually blow through the 1TB cap in the first 10 or so days.

Clamchop 3y ago
I have an unlimited plan (Cox) and they've threatened to terminate me before during a period of high usage. (I was initializing an off-site backup.) Vague language about QoS for other customers in their terms of service, so at their discretion. My dislike of ISPs is evergreen.