Skype Background
Skype is a voice-over-IP service, providing telephone-like service via the
Internet. It is also promoted as supporting large file transfers and in the
future may offer other bandwidth-intensive services. Optional paid Skype
services offer the ability to make and recieve phone calls to and from
ordinary switched telephone networks.
Skype uses a piece of client software that attempts to make peer-to-peer
(P2P) telephone calls. If a call cannot be directly established with a peer
(e.g., due to firewalls or NAT), the peers will relay their calls through a
third-party system. The third party is simply another computer running Skype
software that acts as a "supernode"; the mere installation of Skype is
sufficient to support peer to peer relaying, regardless of whether the Skype
GUI (client interface) is running.
For the UC network administrators conflict with Skype and other P2P software
usage is this "supernode" functionality.
When computers attached to UC networks function as a supernode and route non
UC network traffic the result is incidental yet potentially substantial
network bandwidth usage which can significantly decrease bandwidth available
to support UC business. The campus network is a UC-owned resource and
passing skype network traffic for non UC computers is contrary to the UC
mission.
Due to Skypes operation in this manner it has been banned by the campus
network programmers on the UCSB network. The compute team at Bren has
implemented some methods to prevent Skype from being run on Bren computers.
http://www.oit.ucsb.edu/connect/skype.asp
Alternate applications that don't not have this issue we have suggested are:
GoogleTalk
Gizmo
Jajah
Skype Update
Recent windows versions of Skype have included a hidden feature that allows
this "supernode" feature to be disabled. The Bren compute team has tested a
configuration with a small group of users and in conjunction with the campus
network programmers have deemed that this configuration does not violate the
UC network use policy.
This configuration only works with windows operating systems so users
running other operating system are still restricted from running Skype.
If you would like to use this application please send an email to
request@bren.ucsb.edu with the name of the computer you will be using the
application on.