The process of manipulating, managing or controlling (shaping) portions of a network connection to the outside world and determining an allowed bandwidth consumption based on types of activities. The term is commonly used in conjunction with Internet Service Providers (ISP), where it refers to a tool that is used to limit or direct bandwidth consumption by users. An ISP may use bandwidth shaping to limit a users ability to take too much control over the internet gateway. Bandwidth shaping is also called bandwidth allocation or referred to as a bandwidth management tool.
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