Frequently Asked Questions about Bandwidth Management at AU
Q. What is the current bandwidth management policy at AU?
At AU we have applied a number of firewalling and network security policies
designed to protect our network from intrusion and to assure maximum
efficiency. Among the policies we have implemented is the blocking of
access to certain "peer-to-peer" file-sharing services that are widely used to facilitate the exchange of files (most commonly music and movies) between
desktop PCs over the Internet without the intermediation of a server. This
document explains the rationale for this policy and our approach to implementing
it.
Q. Does this policy affect every type of network use?
No, it only affects a few specific peer-to-peer services. Most other forms of
network access, including the retrieval of pages from web servers and the
downloading of files through standard file transfer techniques,
are not affected.
Q. What are the reasons for this policy?
Our current policy is based on three considerations:
Bandwidth Issues. AU has limited network capacity and it is our
responsibility to guard this resource and preserve it for the highest priority
uses, particularly instruction and administration. Most colleges that have
provided high-bandwidth network access to residence halls have reported very
high utilization of those connections (sometimes over 90%), primarily because
of extensive use of file-sharing services. We have already on a number of
occasions come close to saturating our network connection, even with controls
in place. Given our limited resources at this time, we have decided to place
recreational uses of the network at a lower priority.
Legal Issues. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) contains strong language protecting the
rights of copyright owners. Under the terms of that legislation, any organization hosting infringing materials
is subject to legal action and fines if it refuses to cooperate in the restriction of activity that results
in the illegal use of copyrighted material, which includes the exchange of music and movie files made
possible by the file sharing programs we are blocking. The companies that own the copyrights to this
material were instrumental in getting the DMCA passed are now aggressively asserting their ownership rights.
Services are now available to the major music labels that can locate infringing files on student machines,
resulting in legal challenges to the universities hosting these machines. There have been numerous cases
recently in which universities have received notices of these violations invoking the DMCA and demanding
that the infringing material be removed. Although the legal complexities of these issues have not yet
been thoroughly worked out in legislation and the courts, but we have decided to follow the example of
other universities and restrict this activity until the legal issues have been clarified.
Security Issues. Most file-sharing programs work by opening up individual desktop machines to access
by outside users, the local PC in effect becoming a server. This exposes the desktop machine to a variety
of potential security issues, including the theft of personal data, the implanting of viruses, and the
concealed installation of hostile programs. One reason for controlling access to these services is to
protect student machines, and by extension other computers on the AU network, from these kinds of risks.
Q. Are there any alternatives to access blocking?
A large percentage of colleges and universities are now using port blocking
to control peer-to-peer file sharing. Several other techniques are also in
use. Some institutions have purchased additional bandwidth,
although this alone did not always solve the problem. Increasingly institutions
are installing bandwidth shaping equipment, which imposes
limits on certain services at certain times of day for certain users, which
helps protect the network from saturation. Other solutions include imposing
bandwidth limits on individual students and charging students a fee for Internet
access based on their bandwidth usage.
Q. Is AU likely to change its access bandwidth management policies any time soon?
Our policies are designed to reflect current conditions. As those conditions change, we will review
our policies accordingly, consistent with the goals of the university and subject to the availability
of financial resources.
Rev. 29 July 2004
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