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Expected bandwidth usage (on RamNode) when all packets dropped via iptables
I have a 512MB CKVM plan with RamNode where I have Slackware 14.1 x86_64 installed. For test purposes, I've configured iptables / ip6tables to DROP all packets on INPUT, FORWARD and OUTPUT chains.
What amount of bandwidth usage would be considered normal in such a configuration? In SolusVM Control Panel, I see that the Bandwidth Usage meter has increased by about 740KB in an hour.
Using tshark, I notice a lot of "Broadcast ARP 60 Who has xx.xx.xx.xx? Tell yy.yy.yy.yy" packets. Do such packets count towards the Bandwidth Usage? And could they account for the bulk of the 740KB usage in an hour?
I notice other packets too, but the ARP 60 broadcasts are by far the most frequent.
Comments
Not sure if it's normal or not but, does 740kb of bandwidth even matter? It's almost nothing.
0.74MB * 24 hours a day * 7 days a week * 4 weeks a month = 497.28MB
The cheapest RN plans come with at least 500GB so it shouldn't be much of an issue.
Keep in mind that your bandwidth is calculated before it hits your iptables.
Here's the flow of traffic for your VPS:
Internet <-> Router/Switch <-> Host Node <-> Virtual NIC <-> VPS OS (iptables)
Your bandwidth for SolusVM is recorded between the Host Node and the Virtual NIC. This means even dropped packets from your iptables are still counted.
Anything that hits your VM counts whether you block it with iptables, or not. ARP requests are a normal part of network operation, the amount of bandwidth/transfer they use is inconsequential.
Ok, thanks everyone. I just wanted to make sure 740KB / hour was within the realm of normal when my VPS is doing nothing. I'm not really worried about 500MB / month; it is of no significance given the 2000GB limit of my plan.
Couldn't have said it better, you should all listen to this man!
@Kujoe, I owe you alot of beers for what you helped me with during my years here.