Abstract: A system and method of bi-directional and unidirectional communications is provided. The system includes a first host capable of transmitting multiplexed data at a first data transfer rate. A second host is provided that is capable of receiving multiplexed data at a second data transfer rate. The system further includes a data throttle that limits the first data transfer rate to a throttle value that is less than or equal to the lesser one of the first data transfer rate and the second data transfer rate. The system is operable on a UDP transport layer and an IP network layer and may be implemented by API calls to a sockets layer.