about Bandwidth

Note: ResCom does not make bandwidth policy. ResCom is your liaison between other PSU departments and the residence hall student. ResCom will help you understand and comply with university policies. ResCom will troubleshoot computer related issues and communicate with other departments to resolve issues by appointment or at the helpdesks.

Bandwidth limits, policies and security shutdowns are mandated by other departments at PSU. Bandwidth violation and warning emails are sent from the ResCom email account so the student can get help.

Note:  File sizes listed are estimates.  Actual size can vary based on a variety of factors, including resolution, sampling quality, and compression.

Bandwidth violations may be appealed after receiving a 4th time violation. Appeals start at your local ResLife office.

Can't find your question here? Try the ResCom FAQ or the ITS FAQ!

1. What is bandwidth?
2. What does upload and download mean?
3. Why is PSU restricting the use of my network connection?
4. What is being measured or monitored?
5. Is Penn State Connecting to my computer?
6. What are the bandwidth limits?
        Bandwidth Comparison Chart
7. Will Penn State considering changing the limits?
8. How can I reduce my bandwidth consumption?
9. There is no way I used 4 Gigabytes. I can't be downloading or uploading that much. There must be something wrong with your system. Why am I getting the emails?
10. I've kept track of how much music I've downloaded this week and it's below 4 Gigabytes. Why did I get a violation?
11. What happens if I ignore the violation and warning notices?
12. Everyone copies music and movies.  Why should I be concerned?  What happens if I get caught having or possessing copy written movies or music on my computer?
13. How can I monitor my bandwidth usage?
14. Why didn't I receive a warning before receiving a violation notice?
15. I checked my totals online and I'm still within my limits, but I got a violation.  How is this possible?
16. Can you tell me exactly what I uploaded or downloaded?
17. Why doesn't ResCom backup MP3's and movies on student machines?
18. Is there any way to appeal that bandwidth limitations?
19. A virus infected my machine and that's what caused me to go over my limit for the week. It wasn't really my fault. Can I get this violation reversed?
20. What is the difference between Megabits and Megabytes? What do I need to look for?
21. Can I still use Napster?

Question:  What is "Bandwidth"?

Answer:  Bandwidth is determined by the medium used and transmission speed of the networking equipment or Internet.  Bandwidth is often referred to as a pipe.  The pipe transports data back and forth between your computer and the Internet. You use bandwidth to view web pages and send data out from your computer (upload) or receive data into your computer (download).

The residence halls use 10 Base-T ( 10 megabit ) Ethernet connections to communicate over the network to the Internet. You can send a large picture, download PSU supported legal legal music / video, in seconds.  (At home you may have used dial-up which utilizes use of a MODEM, which communicates over a phone line and uses a very small pipe to the Internet.  The same picture using dial-up could take much longer.)

Compare communication speeds: 

OC3 (Fiber SONET) : Up to 155,520,000 bits per second. (Mission Critical Usage)
Ethernet : Up to 10,000,000 bits per second (Very fast, used in most residence halls)
Modem (Dial-up) : Up to 53,000 bits per second (Slowest of providers)

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Question:  What does upload and download mean?

Answer:  Upload is defined as the process of sending data generated from your computer out to another computer.

Download is defined as the process of receiving data from another computer.

We monitors the total upload and download traffic for each residence hall student with a registered Ethernet connection. The traffic traveling over the Internet is what is used to determine if a student is operating within the bandwidth restrictions.

Note:  We are not looking at the content of data being sent—only counting the amount.

Normal Internet use such as web browsing, e-mail, etcetera generates a very small amount of download and upload activity.  Computers that are acting as sharing servers, running web cams, transferring information over FTP (file transfer protocol) or any other protocal, using file-sharing clients such as Kazaa, Morpheus, Imesh, Audiogalaxy, WinMX, and that utilize various game servers can generate a significant amount of bandwidth activity since you would be either downloading or uploading large amounts of data through the internet.  ResCom stresses you understand what bandwidth is and how to monitor your usage.

Check your current bandwidth consumption by clicking the link.

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Question:  Why is Penn State restricting the use of my network connection?

Answer:  Restrictions in the residence halls have been implemented because the enormous bandwidth consumption, caused by the popularity of music and video sharing. The demand for bandwidth has grown exponentially, so much that it can make it impossible to get e-mail or do academic work over the network. Implementing the download restrictions has reduced the residence hall demand and restored the connection speed to a more reasonable level.  These restrictions have turned out to be extremely successful.

Housing and the Telecommunications and Networking Services work together to implement individual bandwidth restrictions for the residence hall population. Analysis showed the residence hall population makes up  approximately 12% of the total population at PSU. This 12% was regularly consuming  around 65% of the bandwidth.  This was affecting faculty, staff, administrative personnel, and other essential equipment used by departments around campus.  Analysis showed that a very small group of users accounted for a very large percentage of the bandwidth use.

The restrictions imposed started by restricting the amount a student could upload to the Internet.  Music sharing with the world proved to be the major reason for students going over their limits. Other devices such as web cams, on-line streaming media (ESPN streaming sports broadcasts, podcasts, etcetera) and web phones may also place students over the bandwidth limits.

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Question:  What is being measured or monitored?

Answer:  Each residence hall port is monitored for total upload and download traffic. The equipment has been proven to be extremely accurate.  Penn State monitors totals and does not monitor content.

A process runs every 8 hours that compares your totals of upload and download activity to the current bandwidth limits and sends appropriate e-mail (only to their PSU e-mail account) if a student has gone over the limits or is approaching the limit. Every student is responsible for all upload and download activity through their port.  Even if your roommate uses your computer or your computer becomes infected with a virus, the connection is your responsibility. University policy AD-20 states students must be in control of their computer at all times. The student that owns the computer needs to protect it from viruses. ITS supplies students with a FREE Symantec Antivirus program to prevent virus attacks.  It is up to the student to load on their computer. ResCom would be happy to help any resident hall student install the software.  

Check your current bandwidth consumption by clicking the link.

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Question:  Is Penn State connecting to my computer?

Answer: NO. This data is collected at the infrastructure (equipment) level. Bandwidth usage is automatically collected as your data is passed to and from the Internet. No connection is ever made directly to your computer to determine your bandwidth usage.

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Question:  What are the limits? 

Answer:  The limit is 4 gigabytes of information uploaded (data sent out) and 4 gigabytes downloaded (received data) over the Internet per week. This does not include local network traffic on campus as long as the entire path remains within the psu.edu domain.

As you use the Internet, your traffic is being totaled. 3 times per day your totals are reported to a program and compared to the current bandwidth limits. At that time the program determines if any action needs to be taken for your port. If you are between 60and 99.9% of the bandwidth, it will send you a warning. If your computer is always on and is consuming bandwidth while you are sleeping, the next time the program runs you could receive a violation notice. Please take warnings seriously. You may receive several warnings during the week.

If the program determines you have gone over the limits, it will issue a violation notice and change your connection speed to a "shared 56K" limit for the rest of the week. For the first 2 violations your connection speed will be restored to normal early Sunday morning. Once a student receives a 3rd violation the student will remain at the reduced speed for the remainder of the semester. There is no way to get this reversed so be careful not to violate the third time.

It is possible that a student could go over the limits a 4th time and if this happens the students residence hall connection is turned off all together. This can be appealed but is rarely reversed.

Note: TNS has imposed a cap on Internet traffic between the hours of 8am and 7pm Monday through Friday. After 7pm the bandwidth is opened to a  higher cap.

Check your current bandwidth consumption.

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Question:  Will Penn State consider changing the limit?

Answer:  From time to time, the University will review the bandwidth limit and may take action to adjust the limit.  The original limit that was set was 1.5 GB per week.  On August 21, 2006 the limit was increased 33% to 2.0 GB per week.  On March 14, 2008 the limit was increased 100% to 4.0 GB per week.

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Question: How can I reduce my bandwidth consumption?

Answer:  The largest bandwidth consuming applications have proven to file-sharing as well as on-line streaming media. File-sharing Programs such as Kazaa, BitTorrent, Limewire, and Bearshare (to name a few) are the more popular programs. We suggest you follow these procedures to prevent unnecessary bandwidth usages.

1. Disable all music sharing and shut down file shares, or even uninstall the programs. By default, most music programs allow unlimited users to connect to your computer to copy your music. Every file they copy from or through your computer counts against your bandwidth limits. There is often more than one place to disable sharing features. Some music and video sharing programs do not allow you to disable the "super node" type of feature. The only answer in this case is to uninstall that program so it does not continue to use bandwidth without your knowledge.

2. Turn off your computer when you are not in the room and when you are sleeping. Remember, you are responsible for all traffic going in and out of your computer. Before loading programs on your computer ask ResCom if that program has bandwidth considerations and how you can configure it properly.  If your computer is kept idle while you are not attending the machine, it may still be transmitting data.

3. Choose not to send files through Instant Messenger. Any file you send through AOL IM uses Internet bandwidth even if you are sending a file to your room mate or person down the hall. Network Neighborhood and file sharing is not supported in the residence halls.  ResCom suggests sending files through PSU Webmail or perhaps burning CDs with the information.

4. Make sure your computer is not infected by a virus that allows others to remotely access your computer without your knowledge. Viruses could also e-mail themselves out to others and it could also count against your bandwidth limits. PSU provides FREE Symantec Antivirus software and is available for all PSU students. It does not expire and is set to automatically update its definition files on a weekly basis. This helps to keep your computer free from viruses.

5. Do not run any type of Server.  This could allow other people to download files from your computer.  Running a server is a direct violation of the Residence Hall Connection Agreement.

6. Use a firewall.  A firewall is basically what it sounds like - it acts as a filter for information coming in and out of your computer.  It is a tool that gives you control over what programs are allowed to use the Internet and prevents any unwanted activity.

7. Use the PSU e-mail servers to send and receive your e-mail. We recommend you use PSU email or PSU Web mail because they do not effect your bandwidth limits.  If you do not use a PSU email server, all e-mail traffic will count against your bandwidth limits. Popular programs like AOL, Hotmail and Yahoo all require you to communicate over the Internet.  AOL, Hotmail and Yahoo users should forward their email (if possible) to their PSU e-mail account and avoid the bandwidth restrictions.

8. If you listen to streaming radio stations or watch streaming video over the Internet, it will count against your limits.  Also, using a web cam, video phone, or online phone service could possibly place you over your limit.  Please be aware of how much you would utilize these types of services to prevent any overages of your bandwidth consumption.   On-line gaming, especially those with teamspeaking capabilities could certainly utilize a large portion of the bandwidth allotment.  These could put a student over their limit in less than 8 hours. 

9. Uninstall unnecessary protocols that might be loaded in your network configuation. Remove the IPX/SPX or NETBEUI protocols. The only protocol you should be using is TCP/IP. Network Neighborhood is not supported in the residence halls.

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Question:  There is no way I used 4 Gigabytes. I can't be downloading or uploading that much. There must be something wrong with your system.   Why am I getting the emails?

Answer:  The equipment that monitors and reports your totals is extremely accurate. 

Check your current bandwidth consumption.

The traffic is totaled at the point your traffic is put onto or received from the Internet. It commonly maintains totals for almost 16,000 students during a typical semester. If you received a warning or violation notice then it is because you have indeed gone over the limits.

There are many reasons this can happen. Most of the time it is because a student has "chosen" to install a music / video sharing program and did not find all the places to disable sharing. There are programs that you can not turn off super node type of sharing and simply need to be uninstalled. This responsibility is solely on the residence hall student.

Another common reason this can happen is a resident hall student will allow another student to use or configure their computer. Allowing another student to use your computer is your "choice", however it needs to be understood that you are 100% responsible for all traffic generated through your port. There are no exceptions.

Some students have reported that a room mate has used their computer without their knowledge. It is the students responsibility to secure their computer from unauthorized use. Loading a secure operating system like Windows NT or XP is recommended. It is university policy that you do not share your passwords with others.

Many students have gone over their limits because they use AOL IM to transfer files. This requires you to go out of the PSU network and communicate over the Internet. We do not recommend that you regularly use AOL IM to transfer files. Use it at your own risk because your traffic is being totaled and reported every 8 hours. 

Please do not assume you know why you received a violation or warning notice. Ask questions right away to prevent other violations. These violations can not be reversed. You may have downloaded a lot, however you may also have installed a program that needs to be configured properly. You may not know about it till your next violation occurs and it may be too late. ResCom or your local Residential Computing office will be happy to review any questions you have about the subject.

Please read the answers to the question "How can I reduce my bandwidth consumption". This will help every residence hall student.

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\Question:  I've kept track of how much music I've downloaded this week and it's below 4 Gigabytes. Why did I get a violation? 

Answer:  Every time you use your computer on the internet and you visit a website or check your email outside of the psu.edu domain, it counts against your total.  You may have only downloaded 1.4 Gigabytes so far, but normal web browsing, checking AOL or Hotmail mail accounts, watching streaming video, or running a web cam can put you over your limits.  Also, the music downloading programs installed on your machine use bandwidth without your knowledge unless configured properly.  Only one program, Kazaa, will allow you to fully control the bandwidth that it makes available to people on the network.  Make sure you take this into account when tracking your bandwidth usage.  

Check your current bandwidth consumption.

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Question:  Everyone copies music and movies.  Why should I be concerned?  What happens if I get caught having or possessing copy written movies or music on my computer?

Answer:  There are Federal and State laws that prohibit uploading and downloading of copy written music and especially movies. Students take all the risk for this practice on PSU networks. It is against University policy to transfer copy written material over PSU networks without express written permission of the materials owners.  If you are interested in more information about the;

Question:  How can I monitor bandwidth usage?

Answer:  There are several personal firewall products and other utility programs on the market that can help you measure total bandwidth used but there are no programs that just distinguish your Internet traffic. Your Internet traffic totals is what determines if you violate the restrictions. 

Check your current bandwidth consumption.

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Question:  Why didn't I receive a warning before receiving a violation notice?

Answer:  It is possible that you used more than the bandwidth limit within an 8 hour period. When the process runs it will see that you have passed the limits and will send you a violation notice. You will only receive a warning notice only if you were determined to be within 60 and 99.9% of the limits when the program compares your totals. It does not send you a warning as soon as you reach 60%, the program determines if email needs to be sent when the program compares your totals. If you were close to the limits when the program checked your totals you could already be over your limits when you check your email. The best thing to do is turn off your computer when you are not using it.

The system now allows the students to check their current bandwidth consumption.

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Question:  I checked my totals online and I'm still within my limits, but I got a violation.  How is this possible?

Answer:  The bandwidth consumption page is not intended to give students a real time view of their usage.  It is not meant to be used as a "gas gauge"  It is only available as a guide so that students can have a "relative" idea of how much bandwidth they have used up to that point.  Just because the page says that you are within your limits does not mean that you actually are.  The graphs on the page can sometimes be representative of the totals collected from a previous run, and it is essential that you check the time and date of the run that is displayed on the page.  Similarly, the graphs will not automatically update as soon as the totals are collected, there is a delay.  Ultimately, the student is responsible for tracking their own usage on their computer, the consumption page is only a guide.    

Question:  Why doesn't ResCom backup MP3's and movies on student machines?

Answer:  ResCom has taken the stand that we will not illegally copy any copy written materials such as music and movies. Odds are the music and movie clips ARE copy written so ResCom will not backup music or movies files. All backup of data is the responsibility of the student. In some cases we will backup student data during a reformat but will always exclude music and movies. We prefer the student to backup their own data because we are not responsible for loosing any student data.

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Question:  Is there any way to appeal the bandwidth limits?

Answer:  ResCom employees do not make policy or deal with appeals. There are no appeals for any violation except the 4th violation. Violations are not reversed for any reason so please be careful not to go over the limits. Check your current bandwidth consumption (as of the last spot check which happens three times per day or once about every 8 hours).  ResLife will listen to appeals for 4th time violators. Only extreme circumstances will be considered. Not knowing the policies or what programs consume large amounts of bandwidth are not grounds for appeal. Students need to realize there are consequences to going over the limits. These limits are enforced. Never ignore a warning or violation notice. Even if you think you know why it happened, chances are there are other things you have loaded or are doing on line that will put you over. Contact ResCom and ask as many questions as you need to in order to learn what you need to know. Please remember that you are the only person that can prevent  your computer from going over the limits. There is a chance you could loose your connection speed or even the connection itself for the rest of the semester. If you receive a notice, ask questions and seek help.

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Question:  A virus infected my machine and that is what caused me to go over my limit for the week.  It wasn't my fault.  Can I get this violation reversed?

Answer:  No.  Each student is responsible for what happens to their machine when it is hooked up to the residence hall network.  Just because the virus was responsible for the network usage and you weren't isn't grounds to reverse the violation.  Penn State makes Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition available to  each student, faculty, and staff member. A student can load this onto their machine at any time.  It never expires and can be configured to constantly safeguard your machine from viruses at all times  It is the student's responsibility to load this program onto their machine and configure it properly.  You can schedule an appointment with your nearest ResCom desk is you need assistance installing this program.

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Question:  What is the difference between Megabits and Megabytes?  What do I need to look for?

Answer:  Megabits can be looked at like the letters of the alphabet. Megabytes can be looked at like words made up of the letters of the alphabet. Megabytes are made up of megabits. There is a formula to convert bits to bytes. People need to know what they are looking at, bits or bytes. Letters or words.

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Question:  Can I still use Napster?

Answer:  As of May 31, 2007 Napster is no longer officially supported or endorsed as the university's legal media downloading service.  Therefore, as of May 31, 2007, the use of Napster on your residence hall connection will count toward your weekly bandwidth limit. 

You can visit http://legalmedia.psu.edu to learn more about Ruckus, Penn State's new legal media download service - which does not count against your weekly bandwidth limit.

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Can't find your question here? Visit the other FAQ sections or visit Tech Support!

For information about The Pennsylvania State University Ethernet Request Form,
please contact: rescom@psu.edu.