Re: Do you block P2P ?

[David Gillett <gillettdavid () FHDA EDU>]

  Skype resembles P2P technology in two key ways:  in its making
multiple overlapping/simultaneous connections to remote machines
that appear more likely to be end-user clients than servers, and
in its design assumption that network management is the enemy of
the application and its users.

  Without spending significant money on protocol-analysis boxes
that can distinguish between them, it is really hard to block one
and permit the other.

  It is about as hard to whitelist on the merits of the content as
to blacklist on its demerits.

David Gillett

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cal Frye [mailto:cjf () CALFRYE COM]
> Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 2:10 PM
> To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Do you block P2P ?
>
> David Gillett wrote:
> >   We have ONCE, so far, had someone come to use with an
> academic need
> > to run
> >
> > Skype on a particular machine on our network.
>
> While Skype uses P2P-like technology, it's not in the same
> class as Torrent as a file-sharing medium. It's really best
> to separate P2P file-sharing from other uses of the same
> serverless design.
>
> Our Language Lab uses Skype to connect a classroomful of
> Spanish students, for example, with a similar class of
> English students in Barcelona for one-on-one conversation in
> both languages. Most effective, and economical besides. I use
> our Packetlogic to enhance Skype performance, not to block it...
>
> --
> Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of the
> Origin of Species.
> -- Cal Frye, Network Administrator, Oberlin College
>    Mudd Library, x.56930 -- CIT will NEVER ask you for your password!
>
>    www.calfrye.com,  www.pitalabs.com
>
> "Fool-proof implies a finite number of fools."