How To Set Bandwidth Channel, Static IP And Threshold Limits

Support and Help
1

Lubuntu 24.04 LTS

What are the steps to set bandwidth channel’s, static IP address’s, and threshold limit’s for wifi/internet download and upload?

2

Why do you think you need to do that? What’s your end goal here?

Perhaps if you provide details about what you want to accomplish and the general layout of your network someone might be able to give you tailored answer.

Otherwise, this is too vague.

3

My internet cost has doubled over the past 3 months due to my Internet Service Provider trying to force me into allowing them to change internal wiring to fibre-optics.
My landlord, Public Housing for low-income tenants, has said "absolutely no wiring upgrade’s for ‘better internet’.

In three months time my internet bill has doubled simply because of the Fibre-Optics and cost increases. and most of the data usage is from downloads while Im not actively downloading anything (well…not knowingly anyway) but the comp is using data automatically.

According to my ISP, my download usage data has never exceeded 60 GB, yet I’m paying for unlimited.

I got up to 59+ gb one time in the last 13 months and that was like 8 or 9 months ago.
Usual ranges are 25 to 40 gb in download usage.

4

Hi Wyatt,

What you’re asking for can’t really be done from Lubuntu alone. Bandwidth limits and usage thresholds are normally enforced on the router, not the desktop OS. Lubuntu can’t reliably control total internet usage unless it’s acting as the router.

From my knowledge, there are advanced Linux tools (like traffic shaping with tc or firewall rules), but they’re complex, not very user-friendly, and usually not the best solution for this use case — so others here may suggest different approaches.

What you can do on Lubuntu is identify and reduce background data usage (automatic updates, Snap refreshes, browser sync, etc.), which often explains “downloads” happening without user activity.

Setting a static IP is easy, but it only affects your local network and won’t reduce data usage by itself.

If possible, please share:

  • Your router model
  • Whether it’s ISP-provided
  • Whether you can access its admin interface

That will allow more specific guidance.

Hope this helps.

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5

  • Router model
    T3260

  • ISP-provided
    Yes, ISP-provided

  • Whether you can access its admin interface
    No access to the admin interface.
    Is there more than one way to access other than the usually advertised method?

WAN Connection Status
WAN Type: DSL
Dynamic/Static: Dynamic
Modem IP Address: xx.xx.xxx.xxx
Subnet Mask: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Default Gateway: xxx.xx.xxx.x
Lease Time Remaining: N/A
DNS Address #1: xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
DNS Address #2: xxx.xx.x.xx
Wireless
SmartSteering™: Enabled
SSID xxxx + xx
SSID:
xxx_xxxxxx
Security: Enabled
Security Type: WPA2-xxx

6

Thanks for the details — that helps.

Since this is an ISP-provided T3260 router and you don’t have admin access, there’s unfortunately no supported way to set bandwidth limits, thresholds, or traffic rules on it. Those controls must be done at the router level, and without admin access, they’re effectively locked.

There usually isn’t a “hidden” or alternative admin method beyond what the ISP provides. Trying to bypass that would risk breaking the service or violating ISP terms.

At this point, your realistic options are:

  • Reduce background usage on Lubuntu (disable/schedule updates, snaps, background services).
  • Monitor traffic locally to identify what’s consuming data.
  • Ask the ISP if they can enable usage controls on their side or provide a router with user-accessible settings.
  • Use your own router (if the ISP allows bridge mode or passthrough).

Others here may know ISP-specific tricks or limitations for this model, so hopefully someone can add more insight.

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7

Using the terminal (cli), how do I disable/schedule updates, background services
I use no snaps or flatpaks.

I recently started a thread matching at least one of those goals.

8

Since you’re not using snaps or flatpaks, the main things to look at on Lubuntu are APT updates, timers, and background services.

Disable or schedule updates (CLI)

You can stop automatic APT activity by disabling its timers:

sudo systemctl disable --now apt-daily.timer apt-daily-upgrade.timer

This prevents background downloads. You can still update manually when you choose.

To re-enable later:

sudo systemctl enable --now apt-daily.timer apt-daily-upgrade.timer

Check background services using the network

To see live traffic per process:

sudo apt install nethogs
sudo nethogs

For overall interface usage:

sudo apt install iftop
sudo iftop

These are very useful for identifying “mystery” data usage.

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