We’re sure we’re not the only ones who have tried to download a large W file while watching Netflix at the same time. The stuttering and buffering will drive you crazy. There is no simple built-in way to manage local network I/O.
The fix? Wonder Shaper. It’s a cute little app that enables you to use the command line to set a rate limit (Kb/s) for the local device. Using it in such a fashion is a rough and ready way to manage I/O allocation. To install Wonder Shaper, just use: $ sudo apt install wondershaper
Setting up the speed limit on the device is quite simple: $ sudo wondershaper enp0s1 5120 1024
This would set the device enp0s1 to allow a five-megabit download and one-megabit upload. It can be a bit temperamental, but in a pinch it can it be useful. We suggest using Wget, so any break is resumable.
To remove the limits when you’ve finished watching Netflix is a trivial matter. Just use the following command and your Ethernet device will go back to the way it was before: $ sudo wondershaper clear enp0s3