As
Internet is becoming the essential path for communications,
both the number of applications and the data volume they generate
deplete Internet bandwidth rapidly. These include normal network
application programs such as FTP, Web, video services as well
as other personal applications such as KaZaA (peer-to-peer*(P2P)
applications) and ICQ (chat applications).
In order
to prevent abuses, to maintain fairness in bandwidth allocations
among users (especially the Internet bandwidth), and to ensure
the effective management of the bandwidth by the Computing
Services Centre (CSC) under various tight-bandwidth situations,
it is necessary that a Rate Limit Policy be adopted
for the University. The policy below is in fact the common
practice of many universities that have successfully curbed
and limited the impact brought about by these applications:
Unless
prior arrangement has been made with the CSC, each individual
computer, by default, regardless of applications it runs,
types of services it offers, or protocols it uses (except
P2P applications and protocols), will initially be limited
to a default allocation of un-guaranteed network bandwidth
of no more than 500 Kilobits per second. However, for all
P2P applications, regardless of the number of computers they
run on, the total combined bandwidth that they can concurrently
consume at any given time is also initially limited to a un-guaranteed
network bandwidth of no more than 500 Kilobytes. These initially
allocated bandwidths will be allowed to burst up to 1.5 Megabit
per second when bandwidth permits. However, the CSC can, with
reasonable justifications, apply one or more of the following
measures on any networked computer without prior notification: