UW-Whitewater Network Infrastructure Use

Purpose of the Campus Network Infrastructure

The University values openness and promotes access to a wide range of information; accordingly, the campus information systems have been designed to be as open as possible.

The university network consists of: data cables and jacks from the wiring closets to the user's work station, or wireless access points to a user's PC; copper and optical data communications cables; Ethernet switches, routers, servers, and peripherals; systems to enable and manage access; and systems to monitor the capacity and maintain the integrity of the network, with the goal to provide high availability and capacity to support the needs of the network users.

The reliability, availability and adequate capacity of network resources is critical to the day-to-day function of the University. Each member of the University community (students, faculty, staff, and guests) is expected to protect the integrity of the network and to know and adhere to University rules, regulations and guidelines for their appropriate use. Regulations that govern personal conduct and use of University facilities also apply to the use of network resources.

• Components of the Network Infrastructure Policy
• Appropriate Use
• Unacceptable Use
• Access Restrictions
• Request for Evaluation

Components of the Network Infrastructure Policy

Connecting Devices to the Network The campus network is a shared resource. It is therefore necessary to strike a balance between enabling opportunities for teaching and research, and protecting the integrity of network resources. To this end, ICIT must be involved in the planning, acquisition, maintenance, and on-going connectivity of all network devices. This will ensure the appropriate network design, interoperability of components and integrity of operation.

If a device is connected to the network infrastructure without prior consultation, ICIT cannot guarantee the on-going connectivity and proper operation of the device.

Wireless Network Equipment The interest and use of wireless networking (802.11a, 802.11b & 802.11g, Wi-Fi) is evolving rapidly. All network use policies apply to the use of wireless LAN technology.

Wireless access to campus resources will be secured through a central authentication system, except for specific departmental needs. ICIT will work with individual departments and colleges to help address their special needs for wireless technology.

Domain Name Service (DNS)* UW-Whitewater is registered with the InterNic and is the authoritative administrator and user for the uww.edu (140.146) Internet domain. ICIT administers the uww.edu domain and maintains DNS entries and DNS servers for the domain.

Internet servers for academic departments or administrative units serving campus related information may need DNS entries set up for the server. Requests for DNS entries will need to be submitted to the Networking unit of ICIT for approval. No other DNS server should be setup by other campus units.

DNS names will not be given to a server set up for personal use, such as a personal web server. Any web site served on the web servers maintained by ICIT such as www.uww.edu, facstaff.uww.edu, and students.uww.edu will carry the appropriate path names as URL; no DNS name will be given.

Occasionally members of the university community may sponsor an organization that is loosely affiliated with the university. These organizations may be of professional, scholarly, partnership or entrepreneurial nature. Under certain circumstances it may be appropriate for these organizations to hold DNS names other than uww.edu , while hosting them in the university domain.

Provided that the use of these domains support the University’s mission and are consistent with all applicable University policy, ICIT may host them within the uww.edu domain. Approval and regular review of these domains will be conducted on a case-by-case basis by the Chancellor and the CIO. Additionally, there are technical criteria that must be met, such as:

• Servers in the domain must reside in the McGraw data center.
• ICIT must be listed as the technical contact with the registrar**, so ICIT is aware of any changes and can respond appropriately.
• Only UW-Whitewater DNS servers should be specified to the registrar

Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP)

The DHCP service delivers IP information to campus workstations to provide Internet connectivity. The central DHCP service and the management of IP assignments is administered by ICIT.

No other DHCP service should be set up on campus without prior consultation with ICIT, and only to meet specific administrative or academic needs.

Remote Access to Network Resources

While web access is sufficient for the majority of university educational and business activities (including secured web access for applications like course management system - D2L and student records system - WINS), there are some instances when direct access to network resources is necessary. To enable remote access to network resources in a secure manner that protects confidentiality and integrity of university and personal information, UW-Whitewater will use Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology. Virtual Private Networking is a method by which a user can access UW-Whitewater’s internal network via the internet in a secure manner through a firewall or similar security layer.

Use of the UW-Whitewater VPN service or any other remote access method is equivalent to using the UW-Whitewater network directly for the purposes of the Network Infrastructure Use Policy.

Remote access for some campus services, such as email and library databases, may be addressed in separate campus policies.

Authorized users must only connect to the UW-Whitewater network from computers that conform to the Network Infrastructure Use Policy security requirements. This includes ensuring that computers are fully patched with the latest operating system updates and have current antivirus software.

*The Domain Name System (DNS) associates various information with domain names; most importantly, it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. www.example.edu, into IP addresses, e.g. 208.77.188.166, which networking equipment needs to deliver information.

**The right to use a domain name is delegated by so-called domain name registrars which are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization charged with overseeing the name and number systems of the Internet.

Appropriate Use

Listed below are the policies that govern data network access and usage for students, staff and faculty at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

Authorized Users

Authorized users are (1) current faculty, staff, and students of the University; (2) individuals connecting to a public information service supported on the Campus network and (3) others who are specifically authorized to use a particular computing or network resource by the campus unit responsible for the resource.

General Guidelines

Those who use the campus network resources are expected to do so responsibly, that is, to comply with state and federal laws, with this and other policies and procedures of the University, and with normal standards of professional and personal courtesy and conduct.

Security

Information security at UW-Whitewater is everyone's responsibility. To maintain security in using the campus network services, it is important to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Protect your login ID and password. Computer accounts, passwords, ids and other types of authorization are assigned to individual users and should not be shared with others.
• Be aware that the person to whom an account is assigned will be held accountable for any activity originating from that account.
• Do not access data or systems for which you have not been given specific authority.
• Take reasonable steps to ensure that your desktop or laptop computer system does not create a security risk when connected to the network, including keeping anti-virus software and operating patches up-to-date.
• Report security violations.

Confidentiality

Information stored on computers is considered confidential, whether protected by the computer system or not, unless the owner intentionally makes that information available to other groups or individuals. The University of Wisconsin Whitewater takes the position that computer users desire that the information that they store on central and/or campus shared computing resources remain confidential.

While all efforts will be made to ensure confidentiality, users should be aware that data (including e-mail) might, due to software or hardware failure, become accessible to those who are not explICITly authorized for that access. ICIT personnel may also on occasion have access to such data while performing routine operations or pursuing apparent systems or user problems. No guarantee of complete privacy is made or implied by this policy.

Requests for the disclosure of confidential information will be governed by the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and the Wisconsin Open Records Statutes (Chapter 19, ss. 19.31 - 19.39, Laws of 1992). All such requests will be honored only when approved by University officials who are the legal custodians of the information requested, or when required by state or federal law, or court order. Users found to be copying, modifying, or otherwise accessing information for which they have not been granted permission may be liable to disciplinary action.

Unacceptable Use

Network resources at UW-Whitewater may not be used for unlawful activities, commercial purposes not associated with the University, or uses that violate other University policies or guidelines. The following activities are NOT acceptable use of the campus network resources:

• Damaging or performing unauthorized removal of networking equipment, software or data
• Tampering with network hardware, wiring, or software
• Disrupting or interfering with the normal operation of network communications, generating excessive network activity or performing unauthorized monitoring of network traffic
• Willfully introducing computer viruses or other disruptive programs into the university network, which are intended to damage or create excessive load on network resources
• Intentionally violating or attempting to bypass network security strategies
• Using unauthorized accounts, passwords, IP addresses or other network access information
• Accessing or modifying any software, files, data or other university information for which an individual has not been given authorization
• Using network resources to harass or intimidate others
• Using network resources to impersonate others or to forge another's identity
• Interfering with the computing activities of others.
• Setting up network services or equipment without knowledge or involvement of ICIT.
• Violating state, federal or copyright laws
• Using network resources for commercial activity or financial gain which does not conform to UW-Whitewater rules and regulations

Access Restrictions

Access to campus network resources may be wholly or partially restricted by the University without prior notice and without the consent of the user when:

• required by and consistent with law
• when there is reason to believe that violations of policy or law have taken place
• when the continued access/use of network resources by an individual significantly affects the integrity, performance, or security of the campus network as a whole

The individual will be notified of the reason and duration of the access restriction as soon as possible. Access will be restored when the situation has been resolved.

These are general university policies; departments or other units may place additional restrictions on the resources that they manage.

Request for Evaluation

Campus Technology Purchasing Policy requires that any computer hardware, software, peripherals or other equipment that is intended to connect to the campus wired or wireless network, and/or use any infrastructure building cabling will require consultation with ICIT prior to purchase.

The form below is used to request consultation with ICIT to review the impact of connecting new networked device types to the campus network. Requests will be reviewed by the campus Network Architect for technical feasibility and by the ICIT Management Team for consistency with policy and strategic direction.