noticeboard.ru.ac.za

As you're probably aware, we've been experimenting with providing access to staff and students without the limitations of the per-user Internet quota. The intention of this experiment has been to prove that we now have sufficient Internet bandwidth to allow us to manage usage without the unnecessary complications per-user quotas introduce (proxy authentication, etc). This is the third time we've run these experiments, and each time the results have been a bit better. This time around things are looking very positive, and have only necessitated one minor adjustment to the per-host quota system.

We've decided to try and continue this experiment until the end of the semester. Hopefully by then we'll be in a position to make a decision about the long-term future of the per-user Internet quota. Unless operational requirements dictate otherwise, we've no intention of re-introducing these quota.

As previously stated, in the (now unlikely) event that we discover that we need to re-introduce these quotas, we may do so without warning. Should this happen you'll become aware that we've done so when your browser starts prompting you to enter a username and password; please assume that if your browser is doing this, you're subject to normal per-user quotas. We'll post confirmation to this noticeboard if and when this happens. You are encouraged to check here for up-to-date information rather than making assumptions.

Note that public and departmental labs remain subject to per-user Internet quotas, and will do for the foreseeable future.

Note that the declining importance of per-user Internet quotas makes it increasingly important that computers are correctly registered on the network. In the absence of per-user quotas it is the responsible person who'll receive quota warnings for a particular person. They are also the person we'll go to when we suspect a computer is being abused, on on receipt of a take-down notification.

In the same way, where computers are shared by multiple people outside a formal computer laboratory environment, the absence of per-user quotas means that the responsible person will now have to take a more active interest in how computers they are responsible for are used. In many areas of the University this is already happening. However, there are some where shared computers are routinely abused by a single individual or small group of people. This will likely impact other users of the computer. It is up to the responsible person to know who is using their computer(s) and why.

You can check and update the computers you're responsible for by visiting https://register.ru.ac.za/update/. Note that this site can only be accessed from computers registered on the University's network.