Network Bandwidth Policy

Camden Computing Services
Network Bandwidth Policy
9/2005 (updated 9/2009)


The computer network is a shared resource for faculty, staff and student 
use at Rutgers University.  Because of its shared nature, one should not 
abuse this resource by using too much bandwidth.  If this policy is 
abused, all others attempting to use the network will suffer with poor 
performance.

Network bandwidth is used when a person uploads or downloads data on the 
Internet.  Computing Services monitors bandwidth consumption to make sure 
that this shared resource is not abused.  If we detect a person 
transferring an abnormally large amount of data, they will be contacted 
and asked to explain their actions.  If the person has a legitimate need 
to transfer large amounts of data, we will work with them to make sure 
that this is done in a way that minimizes the impact on the network and 
others in our community.  Failure to respond to our contacts can result in 
account closure and in the forwarding of the abuse problem to the Dean of 
Students Office for further action.


What are the bandwidth limits?

For Camden campus wireless and open data jack connections, the bandwidth 
limitation is 500 megabytes (upload and download) from the Internet per day.
Public lab computers are limited to 1 gigabyte (upload and download) from the 
Internet per day.  Due to the nature of WiFi, we have kept that daily limit 
lower than the wired limits to ensure that no single wireless user negatively 
impacts others.  Please note that these limits only pertain to data that is 
uploaded or downloaded from the Internet.  Data transferred between your 
computer and other computers on the internal Rutgers network do not count 
against your limit.

ResNet (residential networking) is managed centrally across all campuses and 
has its own network bandwidth limitations and policies.  As of September 2009 
there is a 7-day bandwidth limit on ResNet of 4096 megabytes downloaded and 
2048 megabytes uploaded between your computer and the Internet.  For details 
about this policy and other ResNet information, please see:

 
Faculty and staff offices are also monitored for bandwidth usage.  The limit 
for office computers is typically 1 gigabyte of data per day (upload and 
download), although exceptions can be made based on specific needs.  For 
questions about office bandwidth, faculty and staff should contact their 
departmental IT staff (UCS).



Stan Kolasa
Camden Computing Services