Q: Which Residence Hall locations have direct access to the University's campus ethernet Network?
A: If you live in one of these locations you have direct access to the University's campus Ethernet from your room:
Q: How do I get connected via my residence hall room ethernet port?
A: You need the following configuration to be connected:
Computer
Ethernet card
Cable
UW Internet Connectivity Kit
Hub
Ethernet Kit
Q: How about wireless ethernet access in my residence hall room?
A: Wireless Networking in the Residence Halls is not currently supported by UW Technology at this time. The Residence Halls are wired for either 10MBits/sec or 100Mbits/sec. These speeds are faster than consumer level wireless connections, more reliable, with greater immunity to radio traffic (wireless) interference. However, wireless networking is supported in a few pilot locations around campus. Documentation on wireless networking devices can be found at: http://www.washington.edu/networking/wireless/wireless_faq.html
Q: Does the UW protect us from hackers and viruses?
A: Some protections are in place, but you need to take steps to protect your computer too.
Q: Why can't I pick my own IP address on the residence hall subnet?
A: It is extremely important that students in the residence halls use IP addresses that are obtained preferably via the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), or alternatively via a static assignment from the UW Network Operations Center. In the latter case, students should be asked to explain why they would prefer to use a static IP in lieu of DHCP. We track this information to assess IP utilization in Residence Hall subnet, and ultimately, to determine whether changes in policy may be required.
The use of an IP address that is *not* obtained through one of these two methods may severely degrade network performance for both the student using the improper address and for other students on the same subnet.
In order to avoid IP address conflicts on the campus network, UW Technology Network Operations Center staff will disable Ethernet connectivity for residence hall computers that are not using appropriately obtained IP addresses.
Q: Why can't I pick my own host name?
A: By generating your DNS host name automatically with a program instead of manually entering a custom name, Network Operations is able to assign names faster, more efficiently, and with fewer problems. Network Operations can also reduce delays due to duplicate or inappropriate names, follow up phone calls, etc. This policy also allows Network Operations to keep up with requests for IP addresses and DNS names from the residence halls.
The format for dynamically assigned (DHCP) host names is:
d-128-95-xxx-yyy.dhcp.washington.edu or
d-128-208-xxx-yyy.dhcp.washington.edu
where xxx is the subnet number and yyy is the host number of the dynamically assigned IP address.
The format for automatically assigned static host names is:
s5-xxx-yyy.student.washington.edu
s8-xxx-yyy.student.washington.edu
where xxx is the subnet number and yyy is the host number of the statically assigned IP address.
If you feel you are unable to perform a necessary function with an automatically assigned name, please let us know what it is that you are unable to accomplish and how a customized host name may help.
This policy is consistent with the aim of the residence hall connectivity project, which is to provide Ethernet access for students' personal computers operating as network clients and used for class work and research, and it also should result in faster and easier system configuration for most residence hall occupants.
A: No, DHCP addresses are ultimately recyclable addresses with fixed lease times. Currently, the leases are valid for a period slightly longer than 3 days. Prior to the expiration of the original lease, an active DHCP client computer will negotiate with one of the campus DHCP servers for a lease extension.
If a student were to manually configure his/her residence hall computer with a DHCP assigned address, inevitably an IP address conflict would occur after the original DHCP lease expired and the same address is assigned to another DHCP client sometime later.
In order to prevent this type of address conflict, UW Technology Network Operations Center staff will disable the Ethernet connectivity of any residence hall computer that is using an address from the DHCP address pool without a valid DHCP lease.
Q: If I were to register my own domain name (e.g., jane-husky.com) with the InterNIC, could UW Technology provide primary name service for this domain?
A: No, in accordance with Washington State Law concerning the use of state-owned computing resources, UW Technology policy does not allow UW Technology name servers to act as authoritative servers for domains that are not related to official University of Washington functions. Indeed, use of any UW resources, including the network, for any personal or commercial use is strictly forbidden.
A: No, UW Technology policy requires that all hosts that are assigned IP addresses from University of Washington address space (e.g., 128.95.0.0 - 128.95.255.255) have IP names with officially sanctioned UW domain names. The principal domain name at the University is washington.edu.
More specifically, UW Technology cannot configure a DNS PTR record for hosts on the campus network with an IP name that does not have an official University domain name. Indeed, use of any UW resources, including the network, for any personal or commercial use is strictly forbidden.
A: No, UW does not offer custom domain names for personal Web pages. However, there seem to be a growing number of commercial ISPs that can offer this service.
A: Many Web and ftp servers on the Internet confirm a client's DNS information before responding to a request. Specifically, these servers will check both the existence of and the consistency between the client's A and PTR records.
An A record is the mapping of an IP name to its address while a PTR record is the reverse mapping of the IP address to its name.
Note that the residence hall IP addresses assigned both automatically via the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) when connecting to the network and statically by the UW Network Operations Center already have preassigned IP names and consistent DNS records.
One can imagine an analogous hypothetical situation involving the campus telephone system. Let's say that prior to arriving on campus, a UW newcomer somehow obtained his/her own unique area code and then selected a random phone number within that area code. Campus telecommunications personnel would not be able to configure both the national and campus telephone systems so that the student's residence hall telephone would have this personalized area code and number.
Q: Why can't I use the IP address that I was assigned last year?
A: All IP address assignments made in the residence halls during the previous academic year (with the exception of all HFS Apartments, including Commodore-Duchess and Radford Court) expire at the end of that academic year spring quarter.
A: The purpose of the residence hall networks is to support student access to class materials, electronic mail, the World Wide Web, library resources, and other related client applications.
These networks do not have the capacity to handle the volume of network traffic that a single nationally popular Web server or an ensemble of regularly visited Web servers can generate. A handful of students running servers have the capability to degrade network performance for their fellow students using the same residence hall subnet. Indeed, use of any UW resources, including the network, for any personal or commercial use is strictly prohibited.
Note that students can publish their own material on the World Wide Web via the UW Technology Web Servers. For more information on this service, please see http://students.washington.edu.
Q: What is the "No Server Policy" for off-campus access to on-campus residence hall servers?
A: The University of Washington provides digital networking capacity to campus residence halls owned by the UW for the purpose of facilitating student academic activity, whether or not such activity is directly related to formal course work. The services are limited by both policy and cost considerations: there are restraints on acceptable use as stated in law and UW policy, and there are inevitable restrictions based on the cost of providing network service.
Specifically, these are guidelines you need to know about and follow if you compute in a networked residence:
You MAY set up private servers for your personal use for class projects, do local file sharing, or run other applications within the educational scope of the UW as long as these file servers do not violate UW Technology or University of Washington policies.
You MAY NOT use network connections in UW housing to provide any service that is visible off campus (i.e., available on the global Internet). This applies to services such as, but not limited to, HTTP (Web), telnet, FTP, IRC, and email. (Note that you MAY set up public services visible off campus using the servers provided on the UW Technology Uniform Access computers, provided your use complies with UW Technology guidelines.)
You MAY NOT use applications that consume disproportionate bandwidth, attempt denial-of-service attack(s), probe and/or exploit security holes in other systems, use unauthorized IP addresses, or otherwise degrade or restrict network access for others (either on or off campus). If UW Technology receives complaints about or detects inappropriate behavior, your network connection will be disabled. You may also be subject to account suspension as well as University disciplinary and/or legal action.
You MAY NOT configure your computer to provide Internet or UW network/ system access to anyone who is not a UW faculty or staff member or student. Also, you are responsible for what your roommates or friends do with your computer connection to the UW network. UW Computing & Communications has implemented technical methods designed to help enforce some of these policies and to regulate the consumption of network resources within the Residence Halls. These technical methods currently include (but are not necessarily limited to):
You MAY NOT copy or use any software, images, music, or other intellectual property (such as books or videos) unless you have the legal right to do so. Unauthorized use of software, images, music, or files is regarded as a serious matter and any such use is without the consent of the University of Washington. If abuse of computer software, images, music, or files occurs, those responsible for such abuse will be held legally accountable.
If you have questions about these policies, please Send a Question to UW Technology using the online form or e-mail them at help@u.washington.edu.
