noticeboard.ru.ac.za

As is customary at this time of year, we've made some adjustments to the demand-side scaling factors that affect the Internet quota system. The intention of these changes is to allow staff and postgraduate students who remain in Grahamstown to make better use of the Internet bandwidth that is available over the June/July vacation.

This vacation we'll be making adjustments that'll apply between now and 23:59 on Sunday 19 July 2010. During this period the following scale factors apply:

• Monday–Friday
  
  • 00:00–00:59 — scale factor of 0.1
  • 01:00–07:59 — scale factor of 0.02
  • 08:00–16:59 — scale factor of 0.5
  • 17:00–23:59 — scale factor of 0.1
• Weekends
  
  • 00:00–00:59 — scale factor of 0.1
  • 01:00–07:59 — scale factor of 0.02
  • 08:00–23:59 — scale factor of 0.1

We expect that the above values will remain in force for the duration of the vac without further change. However, as has happened in the past, it is possible that during the course of the vacation we may make further adjustments (either up or down) depending on the absolute demand on the University's Internet bandwidth. Any adjustments that reduce the Internet quota available to users will be posted to this noticeboard topic in advanced. You are encouraged to check here for up-to-date information rather than making assumptions.

Please be aware that we take the above adjustments into consideration when evaluating applications for quota credits at this time of year.

In light of the recent SEACOM outage it is likely that we'll have to curtail the vacation adjustments to the demand-side management system. If and when we do this, it'll likely be with no more than a few hours notice. You are encouraged to check here frequently and ensure that you know the current status.

Effective immediately, the a scale factor of one (i.e. no DSM scaling) applies between 08:00 and 21:59 daily. This will remain the case until normal SEACOM connectivity is restored or the vac ends, whichever comes first. Please be conservative in your use of international bandwidth, so as to avoid further restrictions.

For today (Thur 8 July) at least, there will be no DSM period overnight -- the scale factor will remain one throughout the night and until at least 22:00 tomorrow.

The DSM period (22:00-07:59 as previously announced) will apply tonight. We'll see how things go, and make an informed decision as to whether we need to do anything further.