A solution to Internet woes will begin testing today as Information Technology Services evaluates the PacketShaper application, software that will manage the bandwidth of the University’s network.
“Since the fall, the reliability of the Internet connection has been so slow because of the types of things going across the connection that we have been having problems going about the daily business of the University,” said Barb Coleman, manager of training and communication for ITS.
Before the holidays, ITS attempted to use PacketShaper on the network, but it caused several problems within the network. ITS contacted the manufacturer, Packeteer, and has since received a patch to correct the former problems.
The test is actually a part of the product evaluation ITS is doing between PacketShaper and its competitor Net Enforcer. PacketShaper will be tested through Monday, Jan. 22. After that Net Enforcer will be tested through Thursday, Jan. 31.
Both applications work from the same basic premise: Manage the bandwidth across the network by determining the importance of certain applications.
In order to accomplish this, ITS has determined “mission critical” applications that must have top priority for bandwidth, explained Kent Scandrett, ITS network technical specialist. Those mission critical applications are e-mail, Telnet, Web traffic, IDX (medical record system), distance learning and streaming media associated with distance learning.
ITS has also recognized those applications that are non-mission critical but bandwidth intensive. Scandrett said these include all peer-to-peer file-sharing programs (Morpheus, Gnutella, Kazaa), streaming applications (news feeds, RealAudio) and gaming (Unreal Tournament, Diablo).
Non-mission critical applications that do not require a large quantity of bandwidth are considered passive and allowed to function normally.
The applications allow all mission critical applications to have first priority to bandwidth. As those mission critical applications require more bandwidth, the remaining bandwidth for all other applications diminishes, meaning slower transfer rates.
However, under these applications, if mission critical applications do not require much bandwidth at times, the non-mission critical applications will be given more bandwidth to utilize, translating to faster connection and transfer speeds.
Coleman explained that the system recognizes file extensions associated with Internet traffic and determines whether or not they are mission critical. For example, a Microsoft Word file with the file extension “.doc” and will be deemed mission critical whereas a downloaded movie would have an extension of “.mpg” and be deemed non-mission critical.
She said that the entire process is like a valve being turned to let certain things through more easily while slowing down others.
Coleman also noted that the software does not segment the bandwidth by permanently giving a certain percentage of the Network over to mission critical system. Instead the allotted bandwidth is flexible depending upon the usage.
According to Scandrett, the new system will hopefully better manage the network, which has been operating as a free-for-all with “first-in, first-out” management, thus resulting in slower connections.
“It’s a good thing when it works. It ensures that we can be students while also taking full advantage of all that the Internet has to offer,” said Matt Love, member of the Student Government Association ITS committee.
