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You can reduce how much network capacity a backup uses without stopping its job: set a transfer-rate limit in the backup software, agent, gateway, or appliance that is sending the data. If network demand changes during the day, use a schedule with a lower cap during busy hours and a higher cap when the network is quiet. Then verify that backups still finish within their required window.
The right control depends on what is under pressure. A cloud upload limit, appliance-to-appliance replication throttle, endpoint transfer cap, and database backup I/O throttle affect different parts of the process. Identify the bottleneck before changing a setting.
Identify what needs to be limited
First trace the backup’s data path and identify where contention occurs. A network cap only helps if it applies to the traffic causing the problem; a local I/O throttle may ease disk pressure but will not directly cap a WAN upload.
- Upload to cloud storage: Look for an upload or bandwidth rate limit on the gateway or backup service moving data to the cloud.
- Replication between appliances: Check the replication settings on the backup or recovery appliances involved.
- Endpoint-to-target transfer: Look in the endpoint agent or backup product’s network rules for a source-to-target transfer limit.
- Local storage pressure during a database backup: Check whether the backup tool offers an I/O throttle. This controls backup processing, not general network traffic.
Use documentation for the installed product and version. A setting in one layer does not necessarily limit backup traffic handled by another.
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Choose a cap and schedule that preserve the backup window
There is no universal bandwidth limit that suits every connection or backup. Start with a conservative cap, then monitor actual transfer rate, competing service performance, job duration, and whether the backup completes before the next run or other required deadline.
- Find the relevant control. Search the product’s console, agent, or command-line documentation for terms such as bandwidth limit, upload rate, network throttling, replication throttle, or backup I/O throttle.
- Set the limit’s scope. Confirm which job, host, destination, traffic direction, and transfer stage the setting affects.
- Use time-based limits if demand varies. Set a lower rate during busy hours and a higher rate when the network is quiet. Make sure the schedule covers the intended weekdays and weekends without unintended gaps or overlaps.
- Check units and time zone. Distinguish Mbps (megabits per second) from MB/s (megabytes per second), and verify whether times use UTC or local time. Check how the product treats schedule boundaries.
- Observe and adjust. Compare backup throughput and completion time with performance on the affected network or storage system. Change the cap gradually rather than assuming one value will work for every link.
- Confirm the operating requirement still holds. Check that the job completes within its backup schedule and that the slower transfer does not undermine the recovery point you need.
How the controls differ by product
These examples apply to the specific products and operations described by their vendors; they are not interchangeable controls for all backup traffic.
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| Product and control | What it limits | Schedule and unit details | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Backup Gateway | Upload throughput from a gateway to AWS Backup | Supports scheduled intervals; console schedule times are UTC. The guide allows up to 20 intervals. The rate is averaged over each second. | A gateway has no rate limit by default. Brief microsecond- or millisecond-scale crossings can occur; the limiter is not an exact instantaneous ceiling. See AWS Backup Gateway bandwidth throttling and PutBandwidthRateLimitSchedule API. |
| Google Cloud Backup and DR StreamSnap | Replication bandwidth between backup/recovery appliances | Can use a constant value or scheduled triggers for different days and times, including separate weekday and weekend schedules. | This describes StreamSnap appliance replication, not all Google Cloud backup traffic. See Google Cloud Backup and DR bandwidth limits. |
| Azure backup | Backup-operation bandwidth, with work-hour and nonwork-hour limits | Supports configurable work days and hours. Microsoft’s example uses Set-OBMachineSetting to set Monday and Tuesday work hours and different work/nonwork limits. |
Confirm that the instructions apply to the Azure backup agent or service in use. The Microsoft Learn page was last updated January 15, 2026. See Microsoft Learn: Manage the MARS agent. |
| Veeam Backup & Replication network rules | Transfer speed from source to target, to reduce backup tasks’ effect on network performance | Network rules can cap transfer speed; check the applicable product documentation for configuration and units. | Veeam also documents a separate bandwidth-consumption limit for transfers from a Windows agent computer to its target. Confirm which setting applies and whether other rules or agents impose another cap. See Veeam Backup & Replication network traffic rules and Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows bandwidth throttling. |
Percona XtraBackup --throttle |
Backup read/write processing, rather than generic network transfer | Percona’s examples say --throttle=1 processes approximately 10 MB/s and --throttle=10 approximately 100 MB/s. |
These are tool-specific processing examples, not WAN upload caps. On write-heavy systems, throttling too strictly can allow redo log generation to overtake the backup. See Percona XtraBackup throttling. |
Handle schedule timing and averages carefully
AWS Backup Gateway intervals
AWS describes its limiter this way: “Bandwidth rate limiting works by balancing the throughput of all data being uploaded, averaged over each second.” That average means a brief crossing over a microsecond or millisecond does not necessarily indicate that the configured rate has failed; AWS says such short crossings need not produce large spikes over longer periods. The limit governs the gateway’s upload to AWS Backup, not every network transfer on the gateway.
AWS schedule times in the console are UTC, and the guide allows up to 20 intervals. Pay attention to transitions: an interval ends at the end of its specified minute. For consecutive intervals switching at an hour without a gap, AWS’s guidance is to end the earlier interval at minute 59 and start the next at minute 00. Consult the AWS interval guidance when building a schedule.
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Other products
Do not assume another vendor uses UTC, the same interval boundary rule, or the same averaging behavior. Check the product’s documentation and verify the schedule in the time zone and units actually shown by its setting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Monitor for a backup that falls behind
A throttle reduces the rate at which the controlled work proceeds; it does not guarantee completion by a deadline. After enabling one, watch both the backup and the service you are trying to protect.
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- Check the job’s actual throughput and total duration, including retries or delays.
- Confirm it completes before the next scheduled run and within the required backup or recovery-point window.
- Check whether the competing application or network performs better during the limited transfer.
- For a database-local I/O throttle, monitor storage pressure and workload behavior. Percona specifically warns that a strict XtraBackup limit on a write-heavy system can let redo log generation overtake the backup.
- If the job misses its window, raise the cap, expand the available transfer period, or revise the schedule; then verify the changed setting against the same completion requirement.
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