Skip to main content

​
Overview

Most server plans come with a monthly bandwidth (transfer) allowance. This page explains what happens when a server uses it up, and the two ways the Ascienth console lets you get more out of it:
  • Bandwidth blocks: extra transfer you buy once and point at servers or a city. Manage them on the “Bandwidth” page under “Resources”.
  • Bandwidth pooling: let all of a team’s servers in one city share a single allowance. Manage it on the “Bandwidth Pooling” page under “Networking”.

​
How Bandwidth Limits Work

  • A server’s usage resets each month on the day of the month the server was created.
  • We email you when a server reaches 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 95%, 99% and 100% of its allowance.
  • When a server goes over its allowance, its connection is throttled to 1.25 MB/s (10 Mbps) until its usage resets, or until more transfer covers it.
  • Servers without a transfer limit are not metered, so blocks and pools do not apply to them.

​
Bandwidth Blocks

A bandwidth block is extra transfer, bought in whole terabytes. It is a balance, not a monthly allowance:
  • A block is only drawn from once a server has used up its own plan allowance.
  • Whatever is left on a block carries over from month to month until it is spent.
  • A block covers either a set of servers or one city’s pool, never both at once.
  • Blocks are priced by region, and a block can only cover servers in the region it was bought for. Blocks are labelled “Americas & EMEA” or “APAC”.
Open “Bandwidth” in the sidebar to see your blocks. Each row shows the block’s size, how much is left, its region, its status and what it is covering.

​
Buying a Block

Blocks are paid from your account credit, so make sure your balance covers the purchase first.
1

Open the buy dialog

On the “Bandwidth” page, click Buy Transfer.
2

Choose a region and size

Choose the Region your servers are in: United States or Germany, or Malaysia, Singapore, or Japan. Enter how many Terabytes you want. The dialog shows the price and the largest block you can buy.If your account credit does not cover the price, the dialog says how much more you need. Add funds and try again.
3

Buy

Click Buy bandwidth. If the price changed since the dialog opened, you are asked to confirm the new price with Pay from Credit.
4

Wait for it to become active

The block appears as Provisioning while it is paid from your credit, then changes to Active. If your credit ran short in the meantime, it shows Needs funds with how much is missing. Add funds before the deadline shown, or the purchase expires.
A new block covers nothing until you attach it to a server or bind it to a city.

​
Attaching a Block to Servers

Open the menu at the end of the block’s row and choose Attach to server. Pick the server in the “Attach Transfer” dialog and click Attach. The server keeps running at full speed once it passes its plan allowance, drawing on the block instead of being throttled. You can attach the same block to several servers. To stop covering a server, choose Detach from a server, pick the server and click Detach. That server goes back to its own plan allowance straight away, and is throttled again if it is already over it. The block keeps its balance and carries on covering its other servers.

​
Binding a Block to a City

If pooling is on in a city (see Bandwidth Pooling below), you can add a block’s balance to that city’s pool. Choose Bind to a city, pick the City and click Bind. Binding takes the block off any servers it was attached to. To remove it from the pool, choose Take out of followed by the city name, then click Take it out. The block keeps its balance and can be attached to servers or bound to another city. Any server in that city that is already over its allowance is throttled straight away.

​
Seeing Where a Block Went

Choose Where it went from a block’s menu to see how much was drawn from it, one line per server or pool per month. A block that is fully spent no longer appears on the “Bandwidth” page.

​
Cancelling a Block

1

Open the cancel dialog

Open the menu at the end of the block’s row and choose Cancel block.
2

Check the refund

The dialog shows the Estimated credit refund: the unused part of the block at the price you paid, less any usage settled when you confirm.
3

Confirm

Type delete to confirm, then click Cancel block.
The block is detached from every server and pool right away, and the unused transfer is refunded to your account credit. Servers that are over their plan allowance may be throttled. You can also cancel a purchase that is still waiting for payment. Nothing is charged for it.
If the console says the refund needs review, the block is cancelled but the credit could not be added automatically. Open a ticket in the client area and we will sort it out.

​
Bandwidth Pooling

With pooling on in a city, all of the team’s servers there share one allowance: their plan limits added together, plus the balance of any of the team’s blocks bound to that city. A quiet server’s unused transfer covers a busy one.
If a pool runs out, every server in it is throttled to 1.25 MB/s, not just the busy one. With pooling off, each server is throttled only when it uses up its own allowance.
Pooling is set separately for each city and each team. Running out in one pool never affects servers in another city or in your other teams. Open “Bandwidth Pooling” in the sidebar. Each city is listed with its region, how many of the team’s servers are there, the transfer used out of the pool’s total, and whether it is Pooled or Not pooled.

​
Turning Pooling On

1

Choose the city

On the “Bandwidth Pooling” page, open the menu at the end of the city’s row and choose Start pooling.
2

Check the warning about blocks

If one of the team’s blocks covers servers in this city and also servers in another city or team, the dialog lists it. That block stops covering the servers in this city until you bind it to a city. Its balance is not lost.
3

Confirm

Click Start pooling. The team’s servers in that city share one allowance from now on.

​
Turning Pooling Off

Open the city’s menu and choose Stop pooling. Before you confirm, the dialog shows how the transfer already used in the city will be shared out between the servers, and which servers would be over their own plan afterwards and throttled. Any blocks bound to the city are detached from it. You can attach them to servers or bind them to another pooled city. Their balance is not lost. Click Stop pooling to confirm. Each server is measured against its own plan again.

​
Team Permissions

Blocks bought by a team member are paid from the team owner’s account credit. See Team Members and Roles.

​
Frequently Asked Questions

No. A block is a balance that carries over until it is spent. Only your servers’ plan allowances reset each month.
A block can only cover servers in the region it was bought for, and only servers that have a transfer limit. A block with no transfer left cannot be attached either.
Pooling must be on in that city first, and the city must be in the block’s region. Turn pooling on from the “Bandwidth Pooling” page.
Extra transfer is not on sale at the moment. Open a ticket in the client area if you need more than your plans allow.
If it used up its allowance, or its city’s pool ran out, it is limited to 1.25 MB/s until its usage resets or more transfer covers it. Attach a block or bind one to the city’s pool to lift the limit.

​
Using the API

Bandwidth blocks and pooling can be managed with an API key. Reading needs the View networking permission, attaching, binding and pooling need Change networking, and buying or cancelling needs Make purchases.
See the API Reference for every endpoint.