Possible attack, other issues cut UNC Wi-Fi on FDOC

Lines of students at Information Technology Services, apologetic signs in libraries and online syllabi that can’t be opened in classes; computer problems on the first day of classes are practically a tradition.

Wireless connectivity issues, including a possible attack on ITS’ Domain Name Service servers, affected internet access on campus from 8 a.m. Tuesday until mid-afternoon.

“I couldn’t pull up things in class like I needed to, couldn’t check the syllabus, couldn’t check my emails, see if any of my professors emailed me,” senior Kaitlyn Coppadge said.

Several problems happened at once to cause the outage, said Jim Gogan, assistant vice chancellor for ITS Communication Technologies.

The UNC-Setup system crashed because it shares a connection with the server used for Microsoft Windows updates, which went out today and took up bandwidth that UNC-Setup needed, Gogan said.

Gogan said that before the next big Windows update, ITS will fix the problem by assigning the update to a different connection so it doesn’t compete with UNC-Setup.

ITS also saw problems with its Domain Name Service servers, including signs of a possible attack from outside campus, Gogan said.

“I’m not going to say it was an attack,” he said. “It may just have been folks looking for things they could attack.”

That issue lasted from 10 a.m. to lunchtime, Gogan said, and ITS is now increasing its number of Domain Name Service servers from three to eight so the group is less vulnerable.

Problems were amplified by high traffic, with students — and all their devices — swarming campus Tuesday. Gogan guessed traffic had increased since the first day of classes in 2014.

“The average person these days carries three or four devices on them that are all connecting to wireless,” he said. “Your smartphone, even if you’re not using it, even if it’s in your pocket when you’re in class — it’s connecting to the network.”

Students interviewed on campus Tuesday proved Gogan’s point.

“(The outage) wasn’t that bad, ’cause I could just use my phone,” freshman Grant Royster said.

Senior Jesse Osiecki said he tethered his phone to his laptop so he could access the internet with his phone’s data plan.

“I’m kind of annoyed, cause in the U.S., we don’t have unlimited data plans,” he said.

Stephanie Brown, director of the Park Library, hung up signs around noon telling students the network was down.

“It was something bigger than just us,” she said. “So I told (patrons), ‘I don’t know what I can do, sorry.’”

Gogan said ITS prepares to handle problems on the first day of classes.

“We tend to expect the unexpected this time of year,” Gogan said.

@janewester

university@dailytarheel.com

What's wrong with my Wifi?

- far from a WAP?

- too many people connected

- wireless card transmission power

- sources of wireless interference (unauthorized wireless devices, cordless phones, microwaves, bluetooth)