In this issue:

• Peer-to-peer file sharing
• UW drops old software support
• Interactive Web Calendar available
• New Cache Server
• UW to offer Virtual Private Network
• Network storage prices reduced
• Voice Mail: Call Again

eNews Extra:
(electronic version only)

• Mail Gateway Replaced

Peer-to-peer file sharing systems overload UW Internet connection

In recent years, computer-to-computer file sharing systems (referred to as "peer-to-peer" systems) have become very popular at UW, especially in residence halls, campus apartments, fraternities, and sororities. Such file sharing systems are used primarily for entertainment by supporting the sharing of digital music and video files. Unfortunately, these programs have consumed a growing portion of UW Internet resources.

A few years ago a system called Napster made downloading music over the Internet common practice. Because it was used to pirate copyrighted materials, however, the recording industry eventually pressured government officials to close Napster. Yet several new alternatives have developed. Copyrighted materials continue to be distributed through peer-to-peer file sharing, but these systems are more difficult to shut down due to their decentralized control. Unlike Napster, which relied on central file servers, most new systems use a decentralized approach that relies on the local networks and computer resources of individual users. Peer-to-peer alternatives include Kazaa, Gnutella (whose most popular client is called Bearshare), Morpheus, and Aimster.

The peer-to-peer approach to file sharing requires cooperation among users and depends on the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and network resources of each peer workstation (in other words, each user’s computer). Such systems can significantly impair the performance of a user’s workstation and use significant amounts of network bandwidth.

Peer-to-peer file sharing began to degrade UW Internet access early in the fall of 2001. At times during recent months, peer-to-peer traffic saturated UW’s connection, rendering the Internet nearly unusable on campus. IT bolstered the connection, but heightened performance was short lived as peer-to-peer activity quickly consumed the increased capacity.

Internet access is expensive: UW currently pays over $400,000 per year for this service. Because of the drain on connectivity, IT was forced to limit the resources used by peer-to-peer systems. In October, as a first step to help correct the problem, the connection between UW residences and the Internet was limited, and students were asked to stop using the file sharing programs. (No network limits were imposed within UW residences or between UW residences and campus.) Additionally, a new tool was installed in November that allows UW network managers to prioritize data. This process is known as "packet shaping."

Peer-to-peer file sharing between computers in UW residences and the Internet has not been eliminated, but it has been restricted to consume a minimum of network resources. To keep Internet performance high and access costs down, UW network managers continue to evaluate overall campus usage and will impose similar restrictions where necessary.

eNews Extra:

Mail Gateway Replaced

The central email gateway, formerly "Roper," has been replaced by a larger-capacity system called "Endeavour." Roper had been suffering from capacity problems caused by ever-increasing amounts of email, compounded by the need to virus scan every piece of email it handled. As a result, Roper had at times been several hours behind in delivering email.

Roper is a Sun Enterprise 3000 with four 250-MHz (64-bit) CPUs and a SparcStorage Array model 114. Endeavour is a SunFire 280R with two 750-MHz (64-bit) CPUs, a hardware-RAID A1000 storage array and a Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

Roper is now being used as a DNS/DHCP server, as well as for usenet news, but IT will migrate these functions to new servers in the future.

New Internet cache server

In order to increase campus Internet performance, Information Technology has begun to use an Internet cache server. When UW users access Web pages, this server stores the pages, images, and other associated objects temporarily. When another user requests the cached page, the server delivers it to the user directly instead of downloading a new copy from the Internet site. This results in faster service and more efficient use of the university’s Internet resources.

Web page developers can control the caching of web pages. For example, a Web developer can specify that a Web page or object never be cached or that the item be cached for a limited amount of time. In turn, users can force Web pages and objects to be loaded from the remote Website by clicking on the refresh button in the Web browser.

There may be problems when remote Web sites restrict access to specific Internet protocol (IP) addresses or subnets (since the cache engine that retrieves the pages on the user’s behalf has a different IP address than the user). This practice is common when access to a remote site is restricted to specific locations due to licensing restrictions. When this situation arises, the cache server is configured to not cache pages from the specific remote site. The UW cache server has been appropriately configured for all known sites that license Internet content based on specific UW IP addresses. Please contact the Information Technology Help Desk at 766-4357 if any remote sites are not reachable.

 

UW drops support for old software

As mentioned in the Fall 2001 IT News, IT officially discontinued support for the Windows 95 operating system December 31, 2001. Support for Office 97, Outlook 97, and Outlook 98 applications will be discontinued February 28, 2002. Users who need to upgrade should contact their user consultant. Also, for users of Exceed 5.0, 6.0, and 6.2: IT will be discontinuing support for these products as follows:

• Exceed 5.0 and 6.0 will be discontinued on February 28, 2002.
• Exceed 6.2 will be discontinued on June 1, 2002.

All currently licensed Exceed users should upgrade to version 7.1 by visiting the installation point at \\uwapps\exceed7.1. If you need help or have questions, please contact your user consultant. After support for an application is discontinued, the software is removed from the UWApps server. Users will not be able to install the old products through UW’s network.

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UW to offer Virtual Private Network

The University of Wyoming will soon make available Virtual Private Network (VPN) services for faculty and staff who access the campus data network remotely. A VPN behaves like a private network but uses a public network, such as the Internet, to establish a private, secure channel for communications between a user’s computer and a protected data network, for example, the university’s campus data network. VPNs offer security similar to a private network through the use of access control and encryption.

Initially, the UW VPN will offer better security for people working remotely. In the future, as the university builds additional firewall protections between UW and the Internet, it will be necessary to use the VPN in order to access many UW computing resources from offsite. A VPN will allow remote UW users to access library resources, file locations, and other restricted resources.

The UW VPN will be made available to campus users when testing is complete. Watch for further announcements.

Interactive Web Calendar Available

IT is now offering UW departments and programs free use of an interactive Web calendar. The calendar’s easy-to-use graphic interface offers visitors the choice of weekly or monthly viewing. Visitors can find events quickly, click on them to reach detailed information, and email these events to any number of recipients. Users can request new event listings by submitting them directly through the calendar Web page. Administration of the calendar is simple and straightforward. If you are interested in adding an interactive calendar to your Web site, contact your user consultant or find more information on the WebNews site.

Try out examples of this new Web tool at http://calendar.uwyo.edu.

IT reduces network storage prices

Information Technology is offering new options and pricing for network storage. Currently, network space is provided free of charge on central IT servers as follows:

• File server (Warehouse) for departments: 100 MB
• File server (Warehouse) for faculty and staff: 30 MB
• Websites for departments, projects, and classes: 100 MB
• Email server (Exchange) for faculty and staff: 30 MB

In the past, additional space has cost fifty cents per MB per year. Because of recent hardware upgrades, however, IT will decrease this fee to twenty cents beginning February 1. Additional space can be ordered in 50 MB increments.

If you do not currently use centralized network storage, this is a good time to request it. Its advantages include:

• Data is available from any computer on campus, making it easy for users to collaborate on projects.
• Storage is located on high–performance, redundant servers for quick and reliable access.
• Data is backed up on a daily basis.
• Users have complete control over security and access.

Additional mailbox space is also available on Exchange. The cost of additional mailbox space is twenty cents per MB per year up to a maximum of 130 MB. All increases are subject to resource availability and may be limited. If you have any questions or would like to request storage space please contact the Help Desk at 766-HELP (766-4357), Option 1, or your user consultant.