Is high bandwidth usage an issue on ResNet?
Network capacity is finite, but the demand for bandwidth continuously increases. Previously, bandwidth-intensive applications such as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing applications have completely saturated Cornell’s network capacity, bringing Internet access nearly to a stand-still (specifically, this was mainly the result of outbound traffic being caused by users elsewhere in the world downloading from file servers and file-sharing applications running on computers at Cornell). Cornell has since taken steps to manage bandwidth usage and prevent high-bandwidth applications, particularly file-sharing, from threatening the university’s network access and performance. Bandwidth usage at Cornell is currently within the limits of the university’s network capacity. Additionally, under the new network usage-based billing system, billing for usage is intended to provide for the purchase and installation of additional bandwidth resources as there is demand.
