Using the network

Information Technology Team > Using the network

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1 Application for network use

The University of Tokyo requires that, for each device accessing the School of Science network, an application for network use be submitted along with the appropriate information (user, purpose, MAC address, etc.). Registration is managed differently by individual Departments/Facilities. At each Department/Facility, the Department/Facility subnet administrator is in charge of managing device registration.

2 Using secure OS/software

Terminals accessing the network must use the latest version of secure OS/software. For an OS (Windows, Mac OS, etc.) and software (Adobe Reader, Flash, etc.), security patches are frequently released. Be sure to keep the OS/software updated.

The use of an obsolete OS no longer supported for security updates is prohibited. Support for Windows 2000, Windows XP or earlier/Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or earlier has been discontinued.

3 Antivirus protection

The University of Tokyo requires that all terminals connected to the network be protected against viruses. The scope of antivirus protection may vary depending on the device to be connected. At a minimum, antivirus software must be installed on Windows/Mac PCs.

Recently, virus infections have often occurred via USB memory sticks. Non-networked devices must also be virus protected, if they exchange data with other PCs using USB memory sticks.

Licenses for antivirus software purchased by the University are available from the Information Technology Center. However, the School of Science pays antivirus software license charges collectively for efficient license management; license keys are issued and the number of installations is controlled on a Department/Facility basis. Contact the relevant administrator, if necessary. For antivirus software, see the page Antivirus software (Japanese) (internal access only).

4 Prohibition of the use of P2P software

The use of P2P software (Winny, WinMX, etc.), which has caused information leakage, copyright violation, unauthorized copying, and other problems, is prohibited. Be sure to avoid sharing files with the general public. The School of Science network provides an infrastructure for scientific and research purposes; the higher-level networks, including UTNET and SINET, are also for educational and research purposes. Upstream firewalls detect all types of malware, including these applications, and are required to take action if there is a problem.

5 Wired network

In principle, all rooms in all School of Science buildings have access to Gigabit Ethernet. The wired network can be used by plugging a LAN cable into the information wall socket.

When the information wall socket in the room is used for the first time or when the user has been changed, related settings must be reconfigured. After the reconfiguration of the settings, the subnet for the relevant Department/laboratory can be accessed by using the information wall socket in any room. Ask the Information Technology Team through the relevant Department/Facility subnet administrator to reconfigure the settings.

Some rooms are equipped with multiple information wall sockets to provide access to different networks at the same time. In most cases, only one information wall socket is available in each room.

To connect multiple PCs in a room, prepare and connect a switching hub. Installing a compact fan-less switching hub supporting Gigabit Ethernet inside the room is recommended. For example, LSW4-GT-8NS (BUFFALO) is available from the University of Tokyo CO-OP (as of March 2011). This hub has eight ports, a compact design, and a built-in battery and can be easily installed by securing it to a desk with magnets.

Old switching hubs stored by the Information Technology Team may be used, if new ones are not required. If you are interested in such hubs, contact us.

The installation of NAT routers by users is prohibited. Unauthorized installation of a NAT router may make it difficult to address security issues in devices connected to the router. For network configuration issues, consult the relevant administrator.

6 Wi-Fi network

All School of Science buildings on the Hongo Campus are covered by a Wi-Fi network. The Wi-Fi network is a VLAN with IEEE 802.1X (EAP-TLS) authentication. The subnet for the relevant Department/laboratory can be accessed directly from anywhere on the network. Since the security type is WPA2 Enterprise, network access requires a user certificate. For downloading a user certificate or configuring related settings, see the page Wi-Fi connection service.

The installation of wireless access points by users is prohibited. Unauthorized installation of access points may interfere with the efficient utilization of radio resources or lead to security issues.

7 Links

• Guidelines for Information Ethics and Computer Use

• UT-CERT (security information)

• University of Tokyo Rules Pertaining to the Operation of the Information Network System (Japanese)
• University of Tokyo Guidelines for Use of the Information Network System (Japanese)

• University of Tokyo Rules Pertaining to Information Ethics] (Japanese)
• University of Tokyo Information Security Policy (Japanese)