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Windows 11 Delivery Optimization does not reserve a fixed share of your internet connection. It is the download service Windows uses for updates and other supported Microsoft content, and it can retrieve pieces from Microsoft’s internet sources, a Microsoft Connected Cache, and eligible peer devices. Peer sharing is optional; disabling it leaves Delivery Optimization’s HTTP download function available.
How Delivery Optimization gets content
Delivery Optimization is Microsoft’s HTTP downloader for supported content. Rather than always fetching every piece from one internet server, it can combine sources: Microsoft’s content delivery network (CDN), a Microsoft Connected Cache, and eligible peer devices. The CDN remains the fallback when the other sources do not provide the content. Microsoft describes peer-to-peer sharing as optional, not a requirement for the service to work. Microsoft’s overview and workflow documentation explain the source selection.
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This is why Delivery Optimization is not simply a bandwidth-reservation setting. Its job is to distribute eligible downloads across available sources; separate settings and policies control how much download bandwidth it may use and which peers it can contact.
How it measures and throttles download bandwidth
Microsoft’s Delivery Optimization FAQ says the service targets no more than 45% of available bandwidth for background downloads and 90% for interactive, user-initiated foreground downloads. These are operational targets, not guaranteed hard caps on all traffic. Microsoft does not state a publication year for the FAQ. The measurement is based on throughput available to the download source, rather than simply the link speed reported by the PC’s network adapter. Microsoft’s FAQ says a dynamic speed test runs every few minutes during a download so the service can adapt as congestion changes.
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The percentages describe default behavior, not an assurance that Delivery Optimization will continuously consume exactly that share. Actual use depends on content, source availability, competing traffic, and the configured policies. Administrators can instead configure percentage-based limits or absolute limits in KB/s. Microsoft recommends absolute limits in low-bandwidth environments, where a percentage of a fluctuating connection may be less predictable. Policy settings that use zero for dynamic adjustment are configurable controls; that zero value is not interchangeable with the FAQ’s default target percentages. The policy reference describes these controls.
Which downloads are throttled
Throttling applies to downloads from internet HTTP sources and Group peers. It does not apply to downloads from LAN peers. In the default LAN mode, peers are devices behind the same NAT/public IP, so those local peer transfers are not governed by the internet download throttle. Microsoft also says it does not calculate a target download speed for LAN peers. The FAQ and workflow documentation describe this distinction.
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What peer sharing means for uploads
When the selected mode permits peering, a PC may upload cached pieces of eligible Microsoft content to other devices. The upload scope depends on the mode: LAN limits peers to devices behind the same public IP/NAT, while configured Group or Internet modes can reach beyond that local scope and require administrator configuration. The available modes are HTTP-only (0), LAN (1), Group (2), and Internet (3). Microsoft’s workflow documentation explains the modes and peer scope.
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Microsoft’s policy reference lists a 20 GB monthly internet-peer upload cap as the documented default value for the DOMonthlyUploadDataCap policy; setting it to zero means unlimited uploads. That policy value should not be assumed to be active on every unmanaged home PC. The same reference lists 20 MB/s as the documented default for DOMinBackgroundQoS, a threshold related to when HTTP connections are dropped as peers meet the background quality-of-service requirement. These are policy-reference values, not universal guarantees for every consumer device. See Microsoft’s policy reference.
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How to check activity on your PC
Windows 11 includes an Activity Monitor that shows Delivery Optimization’s source breakdown, average speed, and upload statistics for the current month.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization.
- Select Activity Monitor.
Administrators can also use the Windows Update for Business Delivery Optimization Report, which reports observed bandwidth savings across devices over the past 28 days, or PowerShell cmdlets to inspect download mode and bandwidth. Details are in Microsoft’s configuration documentation and monitoring documentation.
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How to stop peer sharing without stopping downloads
If you want downloads to continue but do not want your PC to exchange content with peers, configure Delivery Optimization for HTTP-only mode. Microsoft documents DownloadMode 0 for this purpose. It disables peer-to-peer sharing while retaining the Delivery Optimization downloader and its hash checks. This is different from pausing updates: update policies for the relevant product, such as Windows Update, Microsoft Store, or Edge, control whether those products download updates.
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What Delivery Optimization shares—and what it does not
Microsoft says Delivery Optimization does not send personal content or access personal files and folders. Downloaded peer pieces are checked against metadata before use. At the same time, coordinating peer delivery requires the client to register information with the Delivery Optimization cloud service, including content identifiers, a random device GUID, private/internal IP address and subnet mask, a group ID where configured, device-profile attributes, and download or transfer attributes. Microsoft’s workflow documentation describes both the verification process and the metadata used for peer matching.
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