Section 04
Mechanisms
What exists, and what each one can do. Every entry is one layer, one mechanism, or one reason the delay is there.
- 01
dummynet
A traffic shaper built into the kernel's packet filter, which is the machinery most other tools on this platform are driving.
- 02
pf and ALTQ
The packet filter and the queueing discipline attached to it, and what each part is responsible for.
- 03
Network Link Conditioner
A developer-facing front end that presents the same shaping as a small set of named profiles.
- 04
Proxies
Application-level shaping, useful precisely because it is selective.
- 05
Routers and managed switches
Where shaping affects a whole household or office, and where the queue disciplines actually live.
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