Hence it becomes quite important to check your usage regularly.ISP make special pages where users can login and see their usage.But it’s best to check the usage yourself.There are plenty of tools to monitor usage but  many of theme simply do not work at all.I have found a tool which I have been using form 3 months and quite satisfied with its reporting.

Tautology Bandwidth Meter

This freeware tool measure the in and out traffic by monitoring your network interface.And thus monitors the usage.

Salient Features of Bandwidth Meter

Apart from some advanced features ,this has regular features as

The one feature I liked the most was “configurable timing”.It means that I can set time when it has to monitor an when not.I have a BSNL broadband plan which allows unlimited download between 2am to 8am.Once configured this bandwidth meter does not monitor the traffic at that interval.

Please note that there will be a little difference between the usage it records and your ISP data.However this tool is a WORKING and is a must download for every broadband user.

Download here.And let me know if you get any better tool for this purpose.

Related posts:

1. BSNL DataOne Broadband Plan Overview
2. BSNL GPRS Plans
3. Which Program is Using your Internet Connection?

Here are two batch scripts which are used to connect or disconnect your broadband connection.These scripts can also be scheduled at a particular time so that you connect to broadband only when you require.A must have for people who are using plans like 500C which give unlimited downloads in night hours.Note that this will work in Bridge mode only,so first configure your modem in bridge mode and then try this method.

Batch File for Connecting BSNL Broadband

Windows has a command to dial up your connection.Using the command ‘rasdial’
Here is the code which assumes that the  name of connection you made is “BSNL”

 rasdial BSNL user_name password

So if your user name is abc and password is ‘pwd’’ then the script will be

rasdial BSNL abc pwd

Now copy the above code and paste it into notepad.When you save the file click “save as” and in the file name write “connect.bat” including double quotes.The double quote will ensure that the file type is “bat” and not “txt” as happens with any file you save with notepad.The file icon should look like this figure.

 Batch File for Disconnecting BSNL Broadband

Simply add /disconnect to the above batch file as follows-

rasdial BSNL /disconnect

Save this file as ‘disconnect.bat’

Make a new folder in C:/ drive and keep these batch files in the folder

Scheduling Automatic Connection Using These Batch Files

Here we can schedule automatic connection to broadband using the inbuilt Windows Task Scheduler.Here is how to do it.

1. Open control panel=>Scheduled Task.Add scheduled Task.This will open ‘Scheduled Task Wizard’. Here you will see a list of programs which you can schedule.Click ‘Browse’ and go to the folder where you saved ‘connect.bat’ and select it.
2. Give the task, a name say,connect1 and set the frequency say ‘daily’ and click next.
3. Select the start time and start date.Start date will be today and set the start time to the time you get unlimited downloads.For BSNL set it to 02.10 am.
4. In the next step it will ask for you computer user name and password.If you have  single user computer,this field will be filled already ,so click next.
5. Tick ‘Open advanced properties for task when I click finish’ and click next.

You should see the window as follows-

Remember to tick ‘Run only if logged on’ and press OK.Now when you open control panel=>scheduled task,you should see you task listed there.

Similarly add “disconnect.bat” and schedule it  at 07.50 am.

Finally you should see your scheduled task windows as the following figure.

Here I have scheduled “connect.bat” three times as sometimes the connection fails in my region.

Now just put your modem in ON condition and sleep peacefully.Your modem will automatically connect to broadband at the time you want and disconnect too at required time.Have a Good Night sleep.

Related posts:

1. How to Create a PPPoE Dial-up Connection in Bridge Mode
2. BSNL Modem-Bridge vs PPPoE Mode
3. Automatic Scheduled Computer Shutdown-Windows XP and Vista

However a majority of downloading is done through torrents.Among various clients,utorrent is preferable as it’s very light on system resources,easy to use and feature rich too.[Download here] .Utorrent can also be configured for scheduling your downloads as shown here without using any third party scheduler software.

Torrent download scheduling in utorrent  

utorrent has an inbuilt scheduler which is configured here for scheduling torrent downloads.Here are the steps to configure it.

1.Open utorrent.Go to options>preferences>scheduler. Click on ‘Enable scheduler’

2.You will get a screen like this.When you hover your mouse on any green square it will show you the timing .It’s just like a weekly calendar with slots of one hour.If a square is dark green means utorrent has to download in full capacity.

3.Since you want to download during 2 am to 8 am only on all days.Click on the first square from top left till it becomes white in color means no download during that period. Now go on clicking all squares except for time 2 am to 8 am till they are white.

4.The scheduler should look like the image below..However if you click once on any white square now..it will go to pink color i.e.seed only mode..which you don’t want.So ensure that all squares except 2 to 8 are white only. Only the squares which are shown under pink rectangle should be green in color.

Now you can add torrent anytime as you like but utorrent will download at night only.The only precaution to take here is that never force start any torrent.This will override the scheduler and begin download instantaneously.All torrent which are force started have a [F] symbol beside them.

Scheduling downloads will give you a peaceful sleep overnight.Enjoy downloading.

Related posts:

1. Batch File for Scheduling Automatic Connection to BSNL Broadband for Night Downloads
2. Web Based Torrent Client
3. BSNL Modem-Bridge vs PPPoE Mode

Here are steps to create it.The screenshots are taken for a Windows XP computer but they are almost same for Windows Vista.

Steps to create  a dial up connection for connecting to Broadband

Go to start->control panel->Network Connections .click “create a new connection”on the left pane you will get a window showing “welcome to the new connection wizard”
click “next” In the next window select “connect to the internet ” and click “next”

now select “set up my connection manually” ,as shown in the figure below.

Select “connect using a Broadband connection that requires a user name a
password” and click next as shown in the following figure.

Now it says to you to give ISP name..type “BSNL” and click next

Now enter the user name and password provided by BSNL to you as illustrated in the following image,and click next.

Now It will show a window showing “completing the new connection wizard ” click finish.You can tick “add a shortcut to desktop” if you want to connect from the desktop itself.This connection by default is created in control panel=>network connection.

Double click on this connection to connect to BSNL broadband.A windows pops up showing “connect BSNL”.Click connect.

If everything is fine….you will be connected to Internet within seconds..

Once it is connected you will get this info in system tray.When you want to disconnect  you can do so by right click on system tray computer icons and click disconnect.

Or you can also disconnect by going to network connection window as shown below.

This dial up connection can be scheduled very easily using batch files,which will be posted tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. Batch File for Scheduling Automatic Connection to BSNL Broadband for Night Downloads
2. BSNL Modem-Bridge vs PPPoE Mode
3. How to Configure your BSNL modem in Bridge Mode

Open Modem configuration page (http://192.168.1.1) from your browser.You will have to enter admin both as user name and  password . Here, by default you will get a PPPoE connection and some bridging connections.It’s better to delete the PPPoE connection before creating a new bridging connection.

Delete the existing PPPoe Connection

Click on ‘WAN’ on the menu on left hand side.

Tick the remove button for PPPoE connection and select remove.In the next screen you will have to save and reboot.

Create a Bridging connection

Go to WAN setup after rebooting your modem.Now you should not have any PPPoE connection as you have already deleted it.

• On the same screen,from where you deleted the connection click ‘add’.Put VPI=0 and VCI=35 in next screen.click next
• select “Bridging” in connection type.and Leave the “encapsulation mode” to “LLC/SNAP-Bridging” click “next”
• Do not change anything on next screen.. and click ’next’

Here it will show you a summary of the connection you created, which should look like the figure beside.check your settings and click “save” on the right hand bottom.

Now come to the main screen..click “reboot”.Click “save reboot”.

After rebooting,again go to the configuration page.Here you should be able to get a Bridging connection with vpi and vci values as 0 and 35 respectively.

This is only the half part of the total work.You have just created a connection which needs dialing from computer.Now you have to set up a dial up connection for Internet to work.

Creating a dial up connection is pretty easy.If you are unable to do so,here is how to do it.

Related posts:

1. BSNL Modem-Bridge vs PPPoE Mode
2. How to Create a PPPoE Dial-up Connection in Bridge Mode
3. Batch File for Scheduling Automatic Connection to BSNL Broadband for Night Downloads

There is another mode of connection where you have to dial using your user credentials.This mode is commonly known as bridge mode.

Here are basic difference between PPPoe Mode and Bridge Mode.

Following table gives the basic differences between the two.Note that PPPoE is the default mode.

Explanations

• Always on connection

  An always on connection means unless you turn off the modem,you will be connected to the Internet.This is good for unlimited plans.In case you have a limited plan then just think of the situation when  you forget to turn off your modem and your antivirus and other software start to update themselves.For limited plans it’s good to have your modem configured in bridge mode so that you can dial up to broadband just when you need it.

• Routing

  The modem in PPPoE mode acts as a router and a basic firewall which is good for your security..But in Bridge mode,this is just a modem so having a good firewall installed is a must.

  It also means that you may need to forward ports in the router for some application like torrent clients.No port forwarding is required in bridge mode.

• Scheduling

  When you want to schedule your connection (i.e. if you want to get connected everyday at 2 am ),it’s much difficult in PPPoe mode as it requires telnet scripts and some geeky work.While scheduling is a piece of cake in bridge mode.

For BSNL broadband  plans like  500C,which give freedom to  download unlimited at night,the bridge mode is good .The modem can be configured for easy scheduling.Stay tuned to get Bridge mode configuration settings.

Related posts:

1. How to Configure your BSNL modem in Bridge Mode
2. How to Create a PPPoE Dial-up Connection in Bridge Mode
3. Batch File for Scheduling Automatic Connection to BSNL Broadband for Night Downloads

BSNL is currently expanding its broadband services.It has just launched advanced services like web conferencing and IPTV.While these are costly,BSNL has managed to provide basic broadband at a much cheaper price.

There are various plans to choose from.Here I have outlined the plans for individuals.Have a look and choose a plan with the help of these guidelines.

We can categorize the plans in three sections depending on he monthly price.
BSNL Broadband Plans

• Basic plans- These plans include plan home 125,home 250 and some rural plans like rural USOF99 and rural USOF 150.As you can see these are just for the casual surfers.While the speed will be good (256kbps) you will not be able to download much.2-4 hours of browsing simple text sites like rediiff.com with some chatting and images will eat up 1GB in a month.
• Mid range plans-
  These plans have a minimum monthly rental of Rs-500.And in this range you will get a special facility called “night  unlimited” i.e. you will not be charged for whatever you do in night hours.But remember night hours means 2am to 8am.While the time is not suitable for normal browsing it’s great for scheduled downloads,be it movies,mp3 and a lot more.Apart from that,normally you get 1.5GB of usage in a month which is quite sufficient for more than normal browsing, and even some YouTube vides.
• High range plans-
  These plan have unlimited download plan and cost a minimum of Rs.750 per month .But in most of these plan speed is capped at 256kbps whereas in other plans the speed can go up to 2mbps.

Combo plans-
when you choose any of the above plans you will need to pay additional rental and charges of your fixed basic phone.BSNL also offers combo plans where you do not need to pay rental. At present ,combo plans are available in Rs 350 to Rs 600 range.

Which DataOne plan to choose –

Depends on how do you use Internet.Here is a simple guideline.

Before choosing a plan always refer to BSNL official site and tariff page as there are always some new plans and tariff modifications.

Related posts:

1. BSNL GPRS Plans
2. How to check BSNL/other Broadband Usage
3. BSNL GPRS Activation/Deactivation/Plan Change and Settings SMS codes