Colleges Purposely Slow Computer Networks

from the interesting-approach dept

It seems like something of a backwards strategy, but in order to combat overloaded networks due to file sharing, some universities and colleges are purposely slowing down their networks during the day to discourage students from using them to download large files. At night however, they're free to continue their wild and crazy downloading ways. Doesn't this seem somewhat counterintuitive? In order to avoid the network slowing down, they're slowing down the network. However, they are keeping the data pipes wide open when it comes to non-dorm university buildings, which actually does make some sense. It's sort of a poor man's way to do priority based data transfers. People have talked about different schemes to let higher priority data through first, but those have all been relatively complicated. This accomplishes the same basic thing in a much simpler way.
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  1. identicon
    2Lazy2Register, 10 Oct 2002 @ 1:32pm

    That's just dumb

    It's not like you need to sit there and monitor Kazaa!! They'll just do what I do: kick off a buttload of downloads and let it go for a couple of days. What's the hurry, after all. If I was in a hurry, I'd go out and buy the CD!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Old Man Harris, 10 Oct 2002 @ 8:11pm

    Re: That's just dumb

    Ah, yes, but what if they shut off the ELECTRICITY during the day too?!?! That will show those bandwidth-sucking song-pirating students who's boss!

    link to this | view in thread ]


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