Student discontent over the slow speed of the Internet connections this semester has subsided in recent weeks, as Tufts Computing and Communications Services (TCCS) has made several improvements to the network. Measures such as an increase in the overall bandwidth and a better distribution of existing bandwidth have been successful at giving computer users on campus faster access to the Internet.
The biggest change came when Tufts ameliorated the capacity of the connection by reconfiguring the Internet-2 line. The computers on the Tufts network all have access to the Internet through one large pipeline. Only so much data can flow thought that pipe at a particular time, so the network slows down if a great many users try to send and receive data at the same time. The reconfiguration added a second pipeline, and increased the overall speed for network users by nearly one-half.
The Internet-2 connection is top-notch technology and is used by only 200 institutions, most of which are considered Research I, meaning top-level research-driven institutions like Tufts.
There have also been ongoing improvements to the ResNet, the sector of the computer network that serves the dorms. The network is divided so that a certain amount of bandwidth is allocated to the dorms and a certain amount to faculty, staff, and administrative offices. When it was reconfigured over the summer, ResNet was allotted ten of 15 megabits, or two-thirds of the bandwidth. After students complained about the slow speed of the network at the beginning of the semester, TCCS made improvements so that dorms receive nearly 90 percent of the available bandwidth during non-business hours.
Students have reported notable changes in the speed of their Internet connections since these changes took place. Many find web pages loading much faster and the transfer times for mp3s and other data files much shorter. "I have noticed that [web] sites load up much faster than before, which allows me to get my research done faster," freshman Amy Spindel said.
"I can get files faster - be it music, movies, or porn," freshman Zach Chrisco said.
Many previous student complaints were about the long transfer times they experienced while using the file-sharing program Napster, but it is actually use of this software that has caused the network slowdown. Napster still runs when students sleep or are away from their computer, serving mp3 files to any of its 20 million users.
"Students don't realize that they are sharing their files to the rest of the world as well," Director of Networks and Telecommunications Lesley Tolman said.
Napster was banned at Tufts last fall after it began to cause slow-downs in the network, but newer versions of Napster and add-on programs widely available on the Internet have made it easy for students to find ways around the school's barrier, and Tolman felt that Tufts should not be in the business of blocking information.
With Napster back online again this fall, there have been times where network resources have been heavily strained once again. Tufts Online, the division of TCCS that deals specifically with the network, distributed flyers to dorms informing users about Napster's sharing ability and how to disable it.
Tolman did see slight improvement after the network awareness campaign, but her office is still looking to speed up the network. "We want to do more monitoring of bandwidth hogs," Tolman said, in reference to users who download and upload large amounts. Server logs and new software will allow TCCS to pinpoint individual users who are causing problems.
Network performance has also improved because of the shutdown of the Napster-clone Scout Exchange, according to freshman senator Nick Abraham, who has been working with Tolman to alleviate this area of student discontent.
Besides the bandwidth issues, TCCS has experienced other problems this fall, including a recent security breach. For a short period of time, student identification numbers from the class of 1998, which double as social security numbers, were available on the network. Abraham himself first discovered the private information while casually browsing the network in the Eaton Lab.
"I saw an HTML file that contained names and social security numbers of expiring emerald [e-mail] accounts," Abraham said.
Tolman said the data was 18 months old, and insisted that it had been up for no more than 30 hours before it was discovered. She believes that the information was not misused or widely accessible on the network. "It was a big mistake," she said.
