Student-provided Network Equipment & Multiple IP Addresses policy
Version: 2.1
Last Modified: 2008 February 19
Some students may wish to have more than one computer in their
residence hall rooms, or may want to have other network devices, such
as printers, in addition to their primary computer. This is
permissible, under the restrictions defined in this and other Case network
policy documents.
Students that wish to connect multiple network devices to the Case
may use the following, all of which are explained below:
- An Ethernet connection to the Case network.
- An unmanaged Ethernet switch provided by the student.
- Ethernet network adapters compatible with the Ethernet switch,
provided by the student.
- Case network registration for all devices connected to the Case network, whether
directly or through a hub.
Definitions
Within this document, the following definitions apply:
- Network device
- A network device is any device attached to the network that has an
Ethernet address. All computers and printers attached to the Case network
are network devices, for instance.
- Unmanaged Switch
- An unmanaged network switch is a device to which several network
devices connect, and which can itself be connected to the Case network.
This may include "network bridges", and other similar devices.
Applicable Buildings
As of the date of this document, Case allows students to have multiple
network connections in all residence halls.
Unmanaged
Student-provided switches must not provide an interface to allow clients
behind the switch to change its operation. Many vendors provide a web-based
interface that allows operating parameters to be modified.
Switch Requirements
In general, a residence hall faceplate has only one Ethernet connection.
Students who want multiple connections must provide their own equipment to
expand that single connection into enough connections for their devices.
The only permissible equipment is the following:
- A non-managed Ethernet switch with eight or fewer ports for network
devices and a twisted pair or fiber uplink port for connection to the
Case network
All repeaters, bridges, switches, routers, firewalls, and gateways
other than those described above are strictly forbidden.
Any device that requires configuration
or speaks any routing, bridging, switching, or network management
protocol is forbidden. Proxy ARP is not permitted. Any switch that has
its own Ethernet address is forbidden. Acceptable switches must be
stand-alone devices.
Use of NAT as a method of providing connections for multiple computers
to the Case network in residence halls is permitted.
It is not necessary to register an unmanaged switch with ITS, though it
is necessary to register all network devices (computers, printers, etc.)
connected to it.
Students who elect to use such a switch
are fully responsible for its installation,
maintenance, and management. ITS expects that students who elect to
use such a switch will exercise reasonable care and responsibility in its
installation and use.
Registration
All network devices (including all networked computers and printers)
on the Case network MUST be registered with ITS. This registration
must be performed before a device can be used on the Case network. For
computers, the registration process is entered automatically when the
computer is first connected. Other devices may be registered through
the Case Help Desk.
There is currently a limit of (4) IP addresses per student.
It is NOT permissible to connect a device to the Case
network through
any mechanism if it has not been registered and an IP address assigned
to it. Users may not "reserve" IP addresses (ie: receive an IP address
for which there is no corresponding device). Each device being
registered is assigned the first available IP address. ITS
is under no obligation to provide blocks of consecutive IP addresses,
even if all devices are registered at the same time.
Case-supplied Equipment
ITS does not provide any network equipment.
Other departments may, at their option, supply network equipment to their
employees or students, as long as that equipment meets ITS standards.
Network Diagnostics
Because control over connections to the Case network is strictly at the faceplate
level, students with multiple network devices must recognize that,
in situations where it is necessary to disconnect one of their
network devices from the Case network, all of their network devices will be
disconnected.
The privilege of having multiple computers connected to the network
may be revoked by ITS at any time without prior notice,
whether for an individual student or for the entire network.
This policy may be changed at any time at ITS's discretion.
