Bandwidth Management

Due to the potential saturation of our Internet link at certain times of the day, ITS has instituted a bandwidth policy, that will help alleviate these problems. This policy takes into consideration the new Cisco network and the utilization of the Packetshaper 9500.

Bandwidth: The flow of data, typical units is bits per second or bytes per second. Bandwidth is to a data jack as water flow is to a shower. Shared bandwidth is equivalent to a limited city water supply; if a large amount is used elsewhere, you are not going to have all you need.

How it works: The bandwidth shaper does two things: network monitoring and bandwidth shaping. ITS can monitor the campus Internet connection for types of traffic using the network bandwidth. ITS can also see the computers using the most bandwidth. Traffic shaping lets ITS set rules for how the bandwidth of the Internet connection is used. For example, web traffic from instructional areas may get the highest priority on the internet connection.

What it doesn't do: The bandwidth shaper does not affect data traffic within the campus network. Data traffic to and from the University’s computers on campus for e-mail, the registration system, network neighborhood and other campus resources are not affected by traffic shaping. ITS only prioritizes traffic going to and from the Internet.

How it prioritizes campus Internet traffic: ITS can shape internet bandwidth by virtual channels and by individual connections. ITS organizes the shaping by the type of Internet application being run. ITS’s intent is to place instructional needs first. Web traffic gets highest priority. Peer-to-peer traffic is limited and prioritized based on bandwidth available.

In order to help ensure that the University's Internet connection continues to effectively meet instructional needs and the University's academic mission, ITS uses bandwidth shaping (a.k.a." traffic shaping") to manage its Internet data traffic. Bandwidth shaping assigns priorities to data traveling to and from the Internet. Bandwidth shaping helps ITS manage the Internet connection, and provide reliable Internet services to the campus community.