The most significant change to internet services this semester has been the introduction of the cap on daily data usage. During the summer break, the Information Processing Center (IPC)  shared the university-wide IT use policy via email. Owing to security concerns and the government’s IT compliance requirements, the IPC announced its decision to introduce a new user-based Layer 3 (L3) authentication system (which employs a login portal). This system provides several benefits to the user community, such as mobility; users can remain connected to the Wi-Fi network while moving from one place to another. Additionally, all hostels (except SR Bhawan) have been enabled with Wi-Fi. Consequently, students can now log in from any of these access points—not just their own hostel—and access the internet by using their login credentials.

Although the IPC has upgraded the bandwidth in the recent past, user satisfaction was found to be low. Furthermore, on analysing the bandwidth usage, it was observed that certain users were monopolizing the resources and consuming a majority of the bandwidth, depriving other users. To prevent this, the IPC decided to implement a daily data allowance of 3 GB for every user. The English Press Club sat down with the Faculty In-charge, IPC, Prof. Yashvardhan Sharma, and Dean Administration, Prof. S.K. Verma to find out the rationale behind these changes.

Why have the limit on data?

Prof. Sharma explained that since precedent for a data limit had been set by the Goa and Hyderabad campuses, it made sense for a limit to exist in the Pilani campus as well. Talking about how the institute arrived at the limit; he mentioned that since most ISPs have 1-2 GB daily usage plans, a limit of 3 GB seemed sufficient. The IPC has observed that on an average, only 20-25 students in the entire campus exhaust their data allowance each day, and so the limit of 3GB seemed to be more than enough for most students. Moreover, he mentioned that if required, this limit can be increased in the future. Currently, there exists no procedure to extend the data limit. Prof. Sharma, however, said that in case of an urgent requirement, students may use the computer in the IPC operator room between 8 AM to 12 AM for downloading large files.

The Hyderabad campus increases the daily data allowance to 7 GB during the examination period. Prof. Sharma said that while no such plan currently exists for the Pilani campus, if the need is felt, the institute shall take necessary action. Additionally, the institute is planning to implement an identity-based access control (L2 authentication system) to prevent unauthorized access to the institute network within a month.

Bandwidth concerns

Prof S.K. Verma also mentioned that the bandwidth for Pilani campus is currently 3.25 GBps, which is higher than the 2 GBps promised in the Vice-Chancellor’s Action Points last year. Prof. Sharma also mentioned that this was the highest amongst all three campuses and was a key factor in enabling them to create a campus-wide Wi-Fi. Regarding a data rollover policy, Prof. Sharma said that the system is still in its nascent stages and that policies like these will be decided upon after the network stabilises. 

Mapping out Wi-Fi expansion

Speaking about the claims of inconvenience faced by students in having to log in repeatedly to use the network, the professors suggested that students save their credentials using a password manager. Users need to log in again once they disconnect and reconnect to an access point. Once complete coverage is achieved, switching between access points will become seamless and the problem of repeated logins will be reduced. The institute is currently working on increasing the number of access points around the campus with expansion to SR Bhawan, FD-II and NAB planned in this semester. Following this, access will be extended to outdoor locations like the Rotunda, SAC, and Gym-G. For other FD buildings, the current switches need to be replaced by new compliant switches. Also, since FD-II and FD-III are expected to be renovated soon, complete roll-out in these buildings may be delayed. For SR Bhawan, the institute is considering having access points outside the hostel, as the expensive equipment can easily be damaged if placed inside, owing to low ceiling heights in the hostel. 

Tracking Browser History

Talking about tracking students’ browser history, Prof. Sharma mentioned that the network administrator does have the means to track data usage of individual users. The usage log is maintained in a log server to meet government compliance standards, and will only be disclosed if the government requires access.

Blocking Websites

Coming to the reasoning behind the blocking of certain online services, the institute firmly maintains that internet access has been provided for academic activities only. Thus, it does not want its network resources to be wasted on unproductive means. Citing this argument, Prof. Sharma mentioned that WhatsApp, despite being popular, is sparsely used for academic purposes and is treated as social media rather than as a means of communication. Consequently, it has been blocked. He further said that the list of blocked websites is dynamic and that if students feel that a specific site should not be blocked, they can register their complaints on the IPC Complaint Management System (icms.bits-pilani.ac.in).

Presently, the highest priorities are to stabilise the network firewall and modernise the equipment across the institute. In closing, Prof. Sharma mentioned that the IPC is always open for students who have worked on networking and ethical hacking who wish to pursue projects in these domains.