Ball State is connected to the Internet through service providers.  Currently these are AT&T and I-Light.  We are connected through a 1Gbps optical circuit and one DS-3 circuit.  Ball State currently pays for a total of 345 Mbps of service through these circuits.

   
2).    What is bandwidth, and should I care about it?

Bandwidth describes the amount of network traffic that can be sent and received over a particular pipe.  Users are most familiar with Internet bandwidth, which is shared by all campus connections.  Careless and overuse of this resource can have a detrimental effect on all of Ball State's Internet experience.

  

3).    Why does my computer sometimes seem to be slow connecting to the Internet?

It may be that your computer is slow.  It may be that you have a fast computer running too many simultaneous things.  Try reducing the programs that show up in your system tray.  It may also be that the bandwidth to the Internet is currently saturated.

   

4).    What is a firewall?  Does Ball State have/use one?  Why?

A firewall is a protection device for operating safely on the Internet.  Ball State uses a firewall to ensure that our limited bandwidth is in use by Ball State users and not covertly in use by Internet villains.  Today, a great deal of bandwidth can be consumed and campus resources can be "hacked" or destroyed by operating a network unsafely on the Internet.

  

5).    What does the firewall block or not block?

Traffic from your PC to the campus network is not blocked at the firewall.  Traffic from your PC to the Internet is not blocked at the firewall.  Traffic originating from the Internet to campus is filtered at the firewall to block attacks or reduce the likelihood that campus systems or the campus network will be compromised.  Realize that once your PC has been successfully compromised, the attacker can then launch attacks from within the firewall.

   

6).    There aren't that many attempted attacks, are there?

Anyone with an "always-connected" service like DSL or cable modem should run a personal firewall.  If you do, you will realize that your computer endures several attempted attacks daily.  An institution provides an even more appealing target for attack.  It is not unusual for Ball State to deter 5 -10 million attempts daily.

  

7).    Why doesn't "ping" or "traceroute" work for me?

Neither of these programs are end-user applications.  These programs are network utilities and are not required to utilize the network for accessing the web or other Internet services.  Protocols used by these programs are responsible for a significant portion of the Internet's "Denial-of-Service" attacks and thus are to the overall operation of the network.  A restriction might be necessary when an application seriously limits the use of other applications by monopolizing the disabled. However, you do have access to a secure traceroute that can be performed by going to http://www.bsu.edu/traceroute.

   

8).    I can set up my PC to share files on my hard drive with other people on campus, can I do the same with friends off campus?

Much of the same technology that allows access to your friends also allows access by wrongdoers.  Unfortunately, once an Internet hijacker is on your system, they may be able to launch attacks FROM your machine.  Each and every computer on the network defines the security risk for us all.  It is possible to share files through "web-shares".  You can also share files through online companies that provide web-based Internet drive sharing.

    

9).    If I set up a web server in my dorm room can my friends and family who live off campus view my web pages?

Ball State provides many options for access to web pages from off campus through your personal web account that has been provided within a secured environment.  A desktop PC with an unknown level of security is an unnecessary risk to all of campus.

     

10).    I made a music video; is there a way I can stream it as part of my online resume?

Streaming today has become more of a client capability.  Generally, you can place your video in your web space, create a URL to it...and it will work fine.  This is, of course, subject to levels of traffic and congestion at the time.

   

11).    Sometimes I notice that access to the web seems to be faster in a public computer lab than it is in my dorm room.  Is this my imagination, or can there be a difference?  Why?

Most lab computers aren't running several other apps in the background or system tray.  If you reduce these on your machine, you might be surprised the difference it can make.  However, since our perceptions of the performance of the Internet include many parameters, our conclusions are highly subjective.  It could be faster or slower based upon how many computers are currently sharing the path out of the lab or dorm room.  The network structure looks like a tree.  Any branch provides a potential freeway or congestion point.

     

12).    I live off campus; can I use all of the Ball State computer resources i.e. BSU Library services, etc. from home that are available from the public labs on campus?

Yes.  Ball State computer resources such as many BSU Library resources have been deployed and configured as such.  There may be resources meant for local access and not available from the outside because of security or license restrictions.  Most are accessible through http://www.bsu.edu/library.

   

13).    Does the University restrict access to any Internet sites?  What would lead to a restriction should one occur?

Housing, followed by the rest of the University, has restricted the use of high bandwidth applications such as "Kazaa" and its clones, which have been detrimental to our available bandwidth.

    

14).    Is the Ball State network used for more than access to the Internet?

Access to the Internet is only one of the services that Ball State's network provides.  Ball State's network provides the communication and convergence infrastructure to increase productivity and to enhance teaching and learning.  Campus constituents use it to e-mail, connect to Academic records, operate Administrative systems, etc.  Today, anything requiring computing also requires a safe and efficiently managed communications network resource.

   

15).    Has the network changed in any significant way in the past year?  What changes do you anticipate in the immediate future?  Within the next 3-5 years?

The campus network, like technology in general, is in a constant state of migration.  More recently, UCS has migrated to a "switched" network environment.  Network paths incorporate ten gigabit links for the core, with gigabit connections to most buildings, and 100 MB to the desktop.  Three buildings (AB, LB, and BC) have ten gigabit links to the core and each has a lab with gigabit connections to the desktop.  Additionally, two buildings (LB and MI) are purely gigabit to the desktop.

We have also deployed wireless technology throughout most of campus.  This is an exciting technology that is currently in a very fast evolutionary phase, which covers all indoor spaces and some outdoor areas.  See details at http://www.bsu.edu/wireless.

We can expect the next 3-5 years to give rise to increased expectations and the resultant necessary changes.  It is exciting to plan how we can become more productive by increasing our connection to information through higher speed, more ubiquitous access and convergence of current technologies and applications.