George Fox University | Offices and Services | Institutional Technology | Bandwidth Controls

Bandwith Controls

We use a Packeteer box to "shape" Internet traffic as it enters and leaves our campus. Here's how it works.

Our Internet connection is only so wide (currently 4.5 Megabits/second on the Administrative network and 5 Megabits/second on the Residential network). As long as traffic is flowing at or below capacity there are no problems - all traffic gets through without delays. When traffic demand gets higher than capacity you get a traffic jam, just like on the freeway.

Enter Packeteer. Instead of letting everything get stuck in the traffic jam, Packeteer gives preference to certain types of traffic (like e-mail) and forces other traffic to wait (such as online games and music). In a bad traffic jam, e-mail will continue to flow but gaming becomes impossible.

The end result is that academic work (web research, e-mail, etc.) can continue to flow while non-academic uses (gaming, listening to music, etc.) are forced into the slow lanes. There are other traffic controls in place (such as our Firewall and pornography filter). Generally speaking, if you are able to do something (such as run a particular Internet program) only during certain times of the day or week, then you are probably experiencing the effects of the Packeteer box. Of course, you are also experiencing the effects of the Packeteer box when your e-mail arrives on time and you can do web research even though chat and music are bogged down. If you have specific questions or concerns about bandwidth shaping on our campus, please feel free to contact the Service Desk.