Penn State Residence Hall Network Connection Agreement

Revised July 30, 2007

University Housing (“Housing”) provides individual wired high-speed computer network connections (“Network Connection”) in most student rooms.  The use of your Network Connection is subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions set forth below including all exhibits hereto.

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using your Network Connection.  By registering for or using your Network Connection, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth below. 

If you do not wish to be bound by these terms and conditions, you may choose to not use your Network Connection.  If you have already registered for a connection, you may process a disconnect request online at:

 http://www.rescom.psu.edu/ethernet/default2.htm

Housing may modify this Agreement at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified Agreement. You agree to review the Agreement periodically to be aware of such modifications and your continued access or use of your Network Connection shall be deemed to constitute your conclusive acceptance of the modified Agreement.  The most current agreement will be available online at:

http://www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/connectionagreement.htm 

1. Operating Policies. The use of your Network Connection is governed by the University’s Administrative Policy AD20 Computer and Network Security and the Acceptable Use policy (exhibit A below).  Policy AD20 specifically concerns  users’ responsibilities related to access to, and use of, computer and network resources.  It is important that you read and abide by this policy.  The Acceptable Use policy includes specific information regarding the use of Housing’s networks.  Failure to abide by these policies may result in sanctions that include the restriction or termination of your Network Connection; legal action by the University including criminal prosecution; and disciplinary sanctions, which may include dismissal or expulsion.  You may view a full copy of AD20 online at:
   
   http://guru.psu.edu/policies/AD20.html

2. Necessary Personal Computer Equipment.  In order to use your Network Connection, you are required to provide the necessary personal computer hardware and software.  Many different types and models of computers are able to use your Network Connection, however, Housing suggests a minimum configuration which is updated each year.  Although computers not meeting these criteria may be able to use the Network Connection, it will take longer to get the computer connected and the performance may be poor.  You may view the current minimum configuration online at:
   
   http://www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/minimumconfig.htm

Goto Top of document

3. Network Connection Support and Availability.  It is the sole responsibility of the user to maintain their computer hardware and software in good working order.  The University does, however, provide support for your Network Connection.  Although many users are able to configure and use their Network Connection without assistance, some users need help.  At University Park the Housing ResCom office provides support for your Network Connection through the five ResCom desks located in primary housing areas.  Non-University Park locations also have local Network Connection support available (consult your local Housing office for details). Support is provided to help users configure their computers for the network and to trouble-shoot general computer problems.  During certain times of the academic year there is a high demand for this service.  In many cases we are able to help users within one or two days of a request.  However, the University provides no guarantee of response time and a Network Connection may be unavailable for use while you are waiting for service.  Housing does not warrant that your Network Connection will be uninterrupted or error-free or that defects will be corrected.  Your Network Connection is provided on an “as available” basis.  ResCom’s main Web page is located at:

http://www.rescom.psu.edu 

4. Term; Termination.  The term of this agreement is governed by the contract dates of your University Housing contract.  At any time you may request to be  disconnected from your Network Connection and cease to use the service.  No refunds will be granted for early termination or for a user’s decision not to use the user’s Network Connection.  Network Connections are provided in most residence hall rooms regardless of the current resident’s ability or decision to use  the Service.  At its sole discretion, the University may terminate your access to your Network Connection if you fail to abide by the Operating Policies. 

Goto Top of document

Exhibit A

Acceptable Use Policy

Your Housing provided Network Connection uses resources that are shared with many other Penn State students, faculty, and staff.  Moreover, your Network Connection provides access to the global Internet that is used by millions of other users. Each user benefits by being able to share resources and communicate almost effortlessly with other members of the user community.  However, as with any community, the benefits and privileges available via your Network Connection, and the Internet in general, must be balanced with duties and responsibilities so that other users can also have a productive experience.

It is not Housing’s intent to provide network resources that meet the academic needs of all students.  Some students may have requirements for high-end network and computing resources that cannot be accommodated by their housing provided Network Connection.  For example, you may need more bandwidth, for an academic project, than can be provided by your Network Connection.  In this case you will need to find alternate computing resources.  Computer labs and other special facilities may be provided by academic departments to meet these needs.

Servers are prohibited from being used in conjunction with your Network Connection in accordance with university policy AD-20.  Examples of these activities include, but are not limited to, running servers for mail, web, ftp, the Penn State legal music / video system, irc, dhcp, and multi-user interactive forums (such as gaming servers).

Goto Top of document

Illegal Activity

The use of your Network Connection for any activity that violates any local, state, federal or international law, order or regulation is a violation of this Policy.

Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to:

Posting or disseminating material which is unlawful (such as child pornography or obscene material).

Disseminating material which violates the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others. You assume all risks regarding the determination of whether material is in the public domain.

Pyramid or other illegal solicitation schemes.

Any fraudulent activities, including impersonating any person or entity or forging anyone else's digital or manual signature.

Bandwidth Limitations

Bandwidth is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the capacity for data transfer of an electronic communication system.”  All residence hall network connections share Internet bandwidth with each other and with the rest of the University system (computer labs and facilities, dial-in connections, and faculty/staff offices).  In order to ensure that this shared resource is distributed equitably across the University, Housing and Telecommunications and Networking Services ("TNS") have implemented bandwidth restrictions that limit the amount of Internet resources that residence hall network connections can use.

Housing reserves the right to modify these restrictions or add other restrictions in the future.  Housing will send all warning and restriction notices to the user’s Penn State email account (AccessID@psu.edu).  Users must check mail on this account regularly or have mail forwarded to another account that is checked regularly.  If you are unsure of how to forward your mail, see the link for “Change your email forwarding address” on https://www.work.psu.edu/.

There are currently two individual bandwidth restrictions in place.

1. Each Network Connection is currently limited to uploading (sending) 4 gigabytes of data per week to sources outside of the psu.edu domain (to the Internet).
   
2. Each Network Connection is also currently limited to downloading (receiving) 4 gigabytes of data per week from sources outside of the psu.edu domain (from the Internet).

The current restrictions do not apply to data uploaded or downloaded to or from computers within the psu.edu domain--as long as the entire data path remains inside the psu.edu domain. 

Users who violate the restrictions are subject to the following corrective actions:

• Users who receive a first or second violation--uploads, downloads, or any combination of both violations--will have their Network Connection speed restricted to 56Kbs speed for the remainder of the week.
  
• Users who receive a third violation--uploads, downloads, or any combination of both violations--will have their Network Connection speed restricted to 56Kbs speed for the remainder of the semester.
  
• Users who receive a fourth violations--uploads, downloads, or any combination of both violations--will lose the privilege of having a Network Connection. The User's residence hall connection will be disconnected from the network and the Users Access Account ID will be restricted from using dialup, wireless and mobile ports, for the remainder of the semester.

TNS is responsible for monitoring bandwidth usage and processing related warning and violation email notices.  This system monitors Internet upload and download bandwidth totals only--not content. Monitoring bandwidth usage consists of spot checking totals once every eight hours (three times daily).

Users who receive a violation notice will have their Network Connection speed automatically restricted to 56Kbs for both uploads and downloads until the following Saturday at approximately midnight. Students are not guaranteed a dedicated 56Kbs connection speed to their computer. Therefore, restricted connections can be very slow. 

Warning and violation emails are currently being sent at approximately 12 a.m., 8 a.m., and 4 p.m.  

Users can check their weekly bandwidth consumption totals on line at: http://www.absecom.psu.edu/splash/resconnect.cfm This web page represents your weeks bandwidth total as of the date and time posted on the page. These updates are received from TNS three times a day. Please carefully check the time and date of the last update before continuing to consume bandwidth. The data is not updated in real-time. Data displayed is a snapshot of your consumption once every eight hours.

The usage period starts at approximately 12:00 a.m. each Sunday and ends at midnight on the following Saturday.  Every eight hours each user's weekly bandwidth consumption is totaled and compared to the current limits.  If the user's totals are found to be between 60% and 99.9% of the bandwidth limit, a warning email is sent  to the user's PSU email account. If this total is found to have exceeded the bandwidth limits, a violation email is sent. It is possible to exceed the bandwidth limits within one eight-hour period.  If this occurs, the user will receive a violation email without first receiving a warning email.

Goto Top of document

This is a visual representation of how the residence hall bandwidth restrictions work

Electronic Mail

Your Network Connection may not be used to send unsolicited bulk or commercial messages.  Restricted communications include, but are not limited to, bulk mailing of commercial advertising, informational announcements, charity requests, petitions for signatures and political or religious messages. Such messages may only be sent to those recipients who have explicitly requested them.  Your Network Connection may not be used to send messages to any individual who has indicated that he/she does not wish to receive messages from you.

Forging, altering or removing electronic mail headers is prohibited.

"Mail bombing" is prohibited. You may not send numerous copies of the same or substantially similar messages, nor may you send very large messages or files to a recipient with the intent to disrupt a server or account. The propagation of chain letters is similarly prohibited, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings.

Inappropriate Content

There may be content on the Internet or otherwise available through your Network Connection which may be offensive to some individuals, or which may not be in compliance with all local laws, regulations and other rules.  Housing cannot assume any responsibility for the content contained on the Internet or otherwise available through your Network Connection. You must assume the risk of accessing content through the Network Connection, and Housing shall have no liability for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings arising out of or otherwise relating to access to such content.  Content questions or complaints should be addressed to the content provider.

You are solely responsible for any information which you publish on the web or other Internet services. You must ensure that the recipient of the content is appropriate. For example, you must take appropriate precautions to prevent minors from receiving inappropriate content.

Goto Top of document

Other Limitations

Users must ensure that the user’s activity does not improperly restrict, inhibit, or degrade any other user's use of a Network Connection, nor represent (in the sole judgment of Housing) an unusually large burden on the network itself. In addition, users must ensure that the user’s activity does not improperly restrict, inhibit, disrupt, degrade or impede the University’s ability to deliver and monitor the Network Connection services, backbone, network nodes, and/or other network services.

You may not resell, share, or otherwise distribute your Network Connection to any third party. For example, you cannot provide Internet access to others through a dial up connection or host shell accounts over the Internet.

You may not modify or extend the wiring and/or data jacks used by your Network Connection.  The only device you are allowed to connect to the Network is a personal computer.  You may not connect hubs, routers, print servers, terminal servers, or other networked devices.

You may not use your computer to share internet access with any other user or devices such as a second computer or a game machine. You may not use a wired Ethernet port to bridge the connection to or from a wireless port like an airport device. These are examples of using the computer as a router.

Wireless Ethernet communications is prohibited in the residence halls due to security concerns. Residence hall users have been easily compromised in the past due to wireless Ethernet connectivity. Only wired Ethernet ports may be used.

Your Network Connection is provided for your personal use of the Internet. You may not use your Network Connection for commercial purposes. 

Personal Responsibility

Your Network Connection is registered in your name and residence hall room.  You are personally responsible for any misuse of the Network Connection even if the inappropriate activity was committed by a friend or guest with access to your computer.  Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that others do not gain unauthorized access to your Network Connection.

You are responsible to keep your computer virus free, secure from compromise and configured properly to keep your computer from over using bandwidth.  The primary reason students go over the bandwidth limits is because they choose to use music / video sharing programs on their computer and do not turn off the super node and other sharing features of the program. ResCom maintains Web pages to educate and help residence hall students stay within the limits. It is your responsibility to take advantage of these materials. Visit these links listed below.

Keeping virus free www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/virusproblemsintheresidence.htm
Securing your computer www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/security/default.htm
Configure your music / file sharing program if possible www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/security/pages/protectyourself.htm

Goto Top of document

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