Gaming on the Residential Network Guidelines/Procedures
Effective Spring Semester 2012, students are permitted to connect their game consoles and other approved devices to the residential network for gaming purposes. Similar to connecting a personal computer to the wired or wireless network in housing, the student (Participant) is agreeing to the rules and guidelines contained within this document and all other documents that may proceed.
Other documents to review regarding the SSU Wireless/Residential (Wired & Wireless) Network:
SSU Wireless/Residential Network Guidelines
Wireless/Residential Network Participant’s Agreement
Acceptable Use Policy
Use of the Residential Network (wired and wireless) services is a privilege and
it is the responsibility of each user to utilize these services appropriately.
By connecting a host (computer, game console or any other approved device
utilizing the network) to the Residentail Network, users are bound to and
required to adhere to all aspects of
Campus Computer and Network Use Policy 5.30
and the
Conditions for Use of Campus Computing Resources
as well as any and all university, city, county, state and federal regulations.
In addition, users of the Residential Network at SSU are required to adhere to
the following terms of acceptable use.
- Users will refrain from abuse and excessive use of the finite resources and hosts connected to ResNet. Users will also refrain from abuse and excessive use of hosts and services outside of ResNet.
- User must not illegally download or share copyrighted items. Including but not limited to movies, music, software or games.
- As the intent of ResNet is to provide users with access to outside services, users will not attempt to run any unauthorized services.
- Users will not attempt to circumvent the ResNet firewall or any other established network services.
- Users will not modify or tamper with any ResNet network wiring, hardware, access points or network jacks.
- Users are responsible for all network traffic originating from their host.
- Users are prohibited from installing personal routers (wired or wireless) to the network. Routers may disrupt the network and introduce unnecessary security risks for other housing students
Any actions that are deemed a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in a termination of services. Users are subject to any applicable university and/or criminal sanctions and procedures. For more information, questions, or to report an abuse, contact UIS Help Desk at 740-351-3538 or via email at help_desk@shawnee.edu.
SSU Restricts Illegal Peer-To-Peer (P2P) File Sharing
Please note that UIS provides full access for gaming; however, UIS is required to block ports that are known to be associated with peer-to-peer networking. Games that include a peer-to-peer component will not be permitted on the Residential Network.
Shawnee State University restricts illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on our campus network. P2P technologies may be used for legitimate purposes such as instructional gaming, open source downloads, and licensed distribution of media files; however, the use of P2P software to violate copyright law carries a number of possible sanctions, including loss of Internet access, internal disciplinary actions, and even civil or criminal charges. Shawnee State University takes our obligation under The Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137), as well as all other State and Federal legislations that address P2P file sharing, very seriously and will make all efforts to comply with authorities if users of the Shawnee State University Network are suspected of violations.
Gaming Consoles
Approved gaming devices to be connected to the Residential Network
The following is a list of approved devices that are permitted to connect to the Residential Network:
· PlayStation 3
· Xbox 360
· Nintendo Wii (with added Nintendo Wii LAN adaptor)
· Sony PSP
· Nintendo DSi
· Nintendo 3DS
UIS has the discretion to limit the types of devices allowed on the Residential Network based on its capacity to operate as a game-specific device. This list will be reviewed and updated as appropriate.
Steps for connecting your approved gaming device
1. For an approved gaming device to function on the Residential network, the Participant must first register their Media Access Control (MAC) address with UIS. Once the participant has obtained the MAC address the form found at the link below must be submitted. For assistance with locating the MAC address refer to the owner’s manual of the device.
Click here to Register your MAC Address
2. The submitted form will automatically create a ticket and if filled out completely and accurately an assignment will be made for the appropriate UIS Staff. The information will then be registered with UIS and the approved gaming device will be permitted to connect to the Residential Network.
3. All submitted forms will be completed within two (2) business days.
4. While most approved gaming devices have a wireless network card, UIS encourages using the wired connection for the approved gaming devices (where appropriate). As a special note due to numerous conflicts with the current wireless technology in the Nintendo Wii, owners of a Nintendo Wii must purchase a Nintendo Wii LAN Adapter.
Limit on number of gaming devices per student on the Residential Network
There is no limit on the number of approved gaming devices that a student can connect to the residential network.
There is a limit on the number of network ports available for a student to connect an approved device. This number will not increase.
Support for approved gaming devices
Allow two (2) business days for connectivity to be established after submitting the form before contacting UIS.
After the two (2) business days, if the approved gaming device still has issues connecting please contact the Help Desk via email help_desk@shawnee.edu. In the email please include the following: Name, SSU Email, Phone Number, Housing Address and MAC address. The Help Desk will then assign the ticket to the appropriate individuals to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
The level of support UIS can provide for gaming devices is limited to ensuring the MAC Address has been correctly entered and the network port (if connecting through a wired connection) is active. UIS staff will not be able to troubleshoot the actual game console for operation.
UIS does not restrict the bandwidth for the Residential Network; this can lead to poor performance for online gaming or even “time outs” for online gaming. UIS will not be able to resolve these issues.
Attention PlayStation 3 Users: PS3 does not make use of a set of standard ports similar to X-Box consoles. This means that even though you have connectivity and able to sign into PSN you may still encounter difficulties when playing online games. If your online game still does not work please send an email to Help_desk@shawnee.edu including, your name, phone number, Shawnee State email address, housing address and the game you are attempting to play. In addition to this information the student is responsible for providing the necessary ports needed for online play. UIS will verify the ports are able to be opened then make the appropriate changes.
UIS will not research the ports that need to be made available so the game will function properly online.
PC Gaming
SSU Restricts Illegal Peer-To-Peer (P2P) File Sharing
Please note that UIS provides full access for gaming; however, UIS is required to block ports that are known to be associated with peer-to-peer networking. Games that include a peer-to-peer component will not be permitted on the Residential Network.
Shawnee State University restricts illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on our campus network. P2P technologies may be used for legitimate purposes such as instructional gaming, open source downloads, and licensed distribution of media files; however, the use of P2P software to violate copyright law carries a number of possible sanctions, including loss of Internet access, internal disciplinary actions, and even civil or criminal charges. Shawnee State University takes our obligation under The Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137), as well as all other State and Federal legislations that address P2P file sharing, very seriously and will make all efforts to comply with authorities if users of the Shawnee State University Network are suspected of violations.
Limit on number of computers per student on the Residential Network
There is no limit on the number of computers a student can connect to the residential network.
There is a limit on the number of network ports available for a student to connect an approved device. This number will not increase.
Online Play with PC Games
Online play for PC Games requires specific ports to be made available on the network. It is the student’s responsibility to provide the required ports to UIS. UIS will not research the required ports for PC games.
Student should refer to the PC Game Request page to see if a particular PC game has already been requested. If a PC game appears on the list, regardless of the status, there is no need to submit another request.
If a request needs to be made the student should send an email to Help_Desk@shawnee.edu with the name of the PC game and the ports that need to be made available. Also, include your name, phone number, SSU email, and housing address so that UIS may contact you.
Please note that UIS provides full access for gaming; however, UIS is required to block ports that are known to be associated with peer-to-peer networking. Games that include a peer-to-peer component will not be permitted on the Residential Network.
Support for PC Gaming
UIS provides limited support for PC Gaming. If a student encounters an error when attempting to play a PC game online, the issue is probably caused by specific ports needing to be made available. Please refer to the section of this document Online Play with PC Games
Other issues that may cause the errors for online play for PC games will be updates/upgrades or other downloads by the student. The updates/upgrades or other downloads may require additional ports to be made available in order for the PC game to function properly. Since updates/upgrades and other downloads occur frequently, UIS will not be able to evaluate PC games for online play with each download.
Game port requests will be evaluated once a year for a particular game. Once UIS has completed an evaluation of the PC game for online play, the results will be posted on the PC Game Request page. This decision is final and the game will not be re-evaluated for the reminder of the academic calendar. Please keep this in mind before updating/upgrading or downloading other content.
Timeline for PC Game Request
PC Game port requests will be evaluated as priorities permit.
Evaluating PC Game port requests are time consuming for us to complete while remaining compliant with the various state and federal laws.
For these reasons, UIS will not provide a timeline for when these requests will be addressed.
Disclaimer – Document Content
The information contained in this document will be modified when warranted and without prior notice.