Networks - Network Services

 Welcome to the Network Services section of ISS 

Network services are responsible for:

  1. Network design
  2. Implementation
  3. Maintenance Issues throughout the campus.
 Back up and recovery 
Back up and recovery

Data is retained for the following periods:

    • Daily backups (Monday to Thursday), are retained for two weeks
    • Weekly backups (Fri or Sat or Sun) are retained for five weeks
    • Monthly backups (every fifth weekend) are retained for six months

If files are lost or corrupted, the sooner we are informed, the better the chances of restoring.  If it is discovered within two weeks, we can restore to the previous night’s backup.  Any longer than that, we can only restore from the previous weekend or previous month, depending on the time that has elapsed.

Requests for Restores

The following information is required by ISS in order to restore files.

    • The name of the server where the files were stored, and the full name of the directory/folder which contained the files.
      eg. L:\Files\Common files
      To find your directory go to My Computer click on required network drive and again go to your folder.
      Then put your cursor on the top bar and press control button and A (select), next control button and C (copy) then control button and V (paste).
    • The date when the files were last known to exist, before they were deleted or corrupted.
 Firewall ports 
Firewall Ports

The University's external Internet Firewall policy is to deny all external Internet traffic to the University's network unless explicitly permitted. Access and service restrictions may be enforced by IP address and/or port number Proxy services may be used in conjunction with the firewall to restrict usage to authenticated individuals. This policy is designed to protect University network users from attacks launched from the Internet.

In certain cases an individual may require access to certain services or a software application that uses ports normally blocked by both the firewall and proxy server.

If you have a requirement for certain ports to be opened to allow you to access a service or use a software application please contact the Service Desk as detailed below stating the service or application you wish to use and the ports you require to be opened.

Please log your request to https://iss.servicedesk.dcu.ie

However, it should be noted that we will consider this request in the context of potential threats and risks and in line with user compliance with University security policies.

Please see the Policies section for details.

 LDAP - Light Directory Access Protocol 
LDAP - Light Directory Access Protocol

DCU ISS department maintain a directory that contains an entry for each DCU staff member or student. LDAP (Light Directory Access Protocol) is the application that manages the updating and querying of this directory.

Each person's entry contains a login username and password, and also holds information such as what department/course they belong to, what objects (such as network drives, folders, printers etc) they have access to, etc.

Access to most of DCU's computer resources and servers is controlled by this LDAP directory. For example, when a person logs onto the DCU network or makes a connection to a server such as staff.dcu.ie or student.dcu.ie, the login username and password they supply is authenticated to the central directory using LDAP.

This provides a single point of sign-on for the majority of ISS services. There is no need to maintain separate passwords for different servers.

 Network security 
Network Security

In DCU a network security policy exists to ensure secure and reliable network access and performance for the University community. Internet access to University resources and University access to Internet resources are both important elements in sustaining the University's primary missions of instruction, research, and public service. This policy is intended to protect the integrity of the University network and to mitigate the risks and losses associated with security threats to the University network and information systems. Please see the Policies section for details.