Introduction

In some hosting environments, it may be necessary to limit the bandwidth usage of a specific user, domain, file type, or virtual host. Although cPanel provides account-level bandwidth limits, there may be cases where you need to control the bandwidth speed per hour, per day, or per request directly through Apache.

Apache bandwidth limiting can be done using the mod_bw module. This module allows you to control the download/upload speed for users, domains, file extensions, large files, or specific MIME types.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, make sure you have the following:

  • Root access to the server.
  • Apache installed and running.
  • cPanel/WHM server access, if this is a cPanel-based server.
  • mod_bw module installed and enabled in Apache.
  • Basic knowledge of Apache virtual host configuration.
  • Backup of Apache configuration files before making changes.

Check Whether mod_bw Is Installed

Run the following command to check whether the bandwidth module is enabled in Apache:

/usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl -M | grep mod_bw

If the module is installed and enabled, it should appear in the output.

Method 1: Limit Bandwidth for a Specific cPanel User

In this example, we will limit a user’s bandwidth speed to 250 KB/s.

Step 1: Go to the Apache Userdata Directory

For cPanel servers, it is recommended to use the custom userdata include path instead of directly editing httpd.conf.

Example format:

/usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/USERNAME/DOMAIN.COM

Example:

/usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/heman/hemanth.com

Step 2: Create the Directory

If the directory does not exist, create it:

mkdir -p /usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/heman/hemanth.com

Step 3: Create the Bandwidth Limit Configuration File

Create a custom Apache configuration file:

vi /usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/heman/hemanth.com/cp_bw_all_limit.conf

Add the following content:

BandWidthModule On
BandWidth all 256000

Save and close the file.

This configuration limits the user bandwidth to approximately 250 KB/s.

Step 4: Rebuild Apache Configuration

After adding the custom include file, rebuild the Apache configuration:

/scripts/rebuildhttpdconf

Step 5: Restart Apache

Restart Apache to apply the changes:

/scripts/restartsrv_httpd

Why Use the cPanel Userdata Include Path?

It is not recommended to directly edit the main httpd.conf file because changes may be overwritten during Apache rebuilds, cPanel updates, or EasyApache changes.

Using the custom userdata path ensures that the configuration remains safe and persistent after Apache rebuilds or upgrades.

Method 2: Limit Every User on a Virtual Host to 10 KB/s

Use the following configuration to limit every user on a virtual host to a maximum speed of 10 KB/s:

BandwidthModule On
ForceBandWidthModule On
Bandwidth all 10240
MinBandwidth all -1
ServerName www.example.com

Method 3: Limit Internal LAN Users

The following configuration limits all internal users to 1000 KB/s, with a minimum bandwidth of 50 KB/s. It also limits files greater than 500 KB to 50 KB/s:

BandwidthModule On
ForceBandWidthModule On
Bandwidth all 1024000
MinBandwidth all 50000
LargeFileLimit * 500 50000
ServerName www.example.com

Method 4: Limit Specific File Extensions

To limit .avi and .mpg files to 20 KB/s, use the following configuration:

BandwidthModule On
ForceBandWidthModule On
LargeFileLimit .avi 1 20000
LargeFileLimit .mpg 1 20000
ServerName www.example.com

Method 5: Limit Bandwidth by MIME Type

You can also limit bandwidth based on MIME type using Apache output filters.

Example: Limit text-based content such as HTML and plain text to 5 KB/s:

BandwidthModule On
AddOutputFilterByType MOD_BW text/html text/plain
Bandwidth all 5000
ServerName www.example.com

Conclusion

Apache bandwidth limiting can be configured using the mod_bw module to control traffic speed for specific users, domains, virtual hosts, file extensions, large files, or MIME types.

For cPanel servers, it is always recommended to place custom Apache configurations inside the userdata include path instead of directly editing httpd.conf. This helps preserve the configuration during Apache rebuilds, EasyApache updates, and cPanel upgrades.

After making any changes, rebuild the Apache configuration and restart Apache to apply the bandwidth limits.

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