Information Technology Services
Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 2072 · (570) 320-7329
Bandwidth FAQs
Q: What is "Bandwidth" and why is it important?
A: Bandwidth refers to the amount of information that can flow up and down the network. The more bandwidth used, the larger the cost. (Just think of it as a long distance call, or electricity!)
Most residents use very little bandwidth as they browse the Web, send e-mail, and download an occasional file. However, past usage indicates that about two percent of the residents use over 90 percent of the available bandwidth, causing slowdowns and poor performance for everyone.
Q: How much "Bandwidth" does the Penn College have?
A: At the present time, we have a 155 MB connection to the Internet.
Q: Is our bandwidth controlled now?
A: Yes. A very sophisticated piece network appliance that monitors all network traffic to and from the College network. With this equipment, we can allocate bandwidth by prioritizing types of traffic. We classify many of the “peer-to-peer” applications as entertainment traffic, which is given a lower priority than Web browsing, e-mail, and transferring files to and from other Penn College servers. This means that students doing higher priority tasks will not experience degraded bandwidth when other students download music or movies.
Q: How is our bandwidth controlled?
A: We have cataloged and prioritized the different types of traffic that moves across the network. Here's a short list:
- All network traffic to/from any Penn College computer, Web site, or server is untouched. There are no controls and no need to shape this, as it is "educational" traffic. Because it does not pass to or from the Internet, we don't have to pay for it. As long as it stays within the Penn College network, we can take advantage of the high-speed connections and equipment we have on campus.
- All other regular traffic to/from the Internet is given the next priority, such as Web browsing, IM and other chat software, e-mail, FTP, telnet, streaming audio or video, games, etc.
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is given the lowest priority. P2P is an incredible consumer of bandwidth, and no amount we set aside would ever be enough. We found in the past that P2P traffic consumed such quantities of bandwidth that the legitimate educational uses of the entire Penn College network suffered. Further, the demands on bandwidth were driving the costs for our Internet service out of control. [Are you aware of the legal implications of file sharing?]
- Worms! Worms are a reoccurring problem, infecting many computers within the housing network every year. We set our system to recognize and block known worms from the network, but variants may make it through from time to time. Keep your anti-virus software updated to protect your computer and files.
Q: Does this mean that you can tell what Web sites I visit, and read my e-mail?
A: No! We are concerned with network performance and the applications that are running on the network, not the content of the files residents transfer or the Web sites they visit. Your privacy is one of our primary concerns, as is guaranteeing a fair and equitable amount of bandwidth for each of our residents.
We work daily to keep our network tuned up and performing at peak. We continually monitor performance, update hardware and software, and analyze network traffic to make sure no single non-educational program interferes with your legitimate educational use of our network.