Fixing the Network Slowdown Residential students have been coping with very slow access to Web sites and other Internet resources.  Here's what has been discovered about why this is happening, and what's being done to fix it.

Causes

  • Downloading and sharing music and video has overwhelmed network capacity,  particularly over UVM's links to the Internet.  In a few areas, even the       internal network appears slower.
  • Some growth in academic network use

Action Taken ... More Action Planned

Several changes are needed to make the situation better, and some are in place already.

Education and publicity

  • Some people have turned off  file sharing after learning of the impact it has
  • A poster, a Web site, a discussion list, and a cable TV presentation are due out in days

Bandwidth

  • More capacity to handle traffic to and from the Internet will be put in place
  • But additional bandwidth is not funded for residence halls

Restrictions on file sharing

  • Restricting only off-campus traffic
  • Morpheus and KaZaa blocked mid-September
  • Additional restrictions starting Monday, October 1 will include some or all of:
    • Audiogalaxy
    • iMesh
    • Gnutella (BearShare, Limewire, Gnotella, etc.)
    • Hotline
  • Restrictions are experimental; effectiveness to be evaluated

Enforcement of UVM's Computer and Network Usage Policy

  • Negative impact on others' use of network
  • Copyright violations

Ideas Wanted!

Have an idea about what should be done, or a question?  Creative solutions are being explored on the new UVM-Network-Performance list.  To read or join:

    http://list.uvm.edu/archives/uvm-network-performance.html

Since this is a phenomenon that has hit many colleges and universities this fall, UVM is watching what's happening at other institutions, as described in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article:

    http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i05/05a04401.htm

Watch this space for news about a new Web site dedicated to UVM network performance.  With everyone's cooperation in using networks responsibly, and technical solutions where necessary, a better network experience may be just around the corner.