[Antariksh Bothale]

[This article was written by Antariksh Bothale and Rohit Kiran for the Freshmen Handbook 2008. Posted here with some modifications.]

Disclaimer: There have been enough cases in the past where students in their first years bring their PCs and get addicted to non-constructive activities like gaming, watching movies and social networking. Consider this as a very sincere, earnest advice from the whole senior student community - Do NOT bring your laptops/desktops till your second year. There are enough public computers with Internet access to serve all your academic needs. This article gives an outlines of how to access these public computers for academic and related purposes.

Right from the first lecture, you will hear professors say that Lecture notes or other stuff have been uploaded on their websites or on Moodle. What remains to be tackled is, how exactly are you supposed to access the internet? Here, we provide you some basic information.

All hostel rooms have a LAN Port which you can use to connect to the IIT Bombay network and to the Internet, provided you have a computer. You will need to set the IP Address and some other parameters before you are able to do that. Ask your Hostel Computer Secretary for help. You can also visit web.iitb.ac.in for some details (if you can).

To access the internet, you will need to change the proxy settings of your browser. Go to Tools > Options or Edit > Preferences if you are using Mozilla or goto Internet Options (in case of Internet Explorer/Chrome) and look for Network Settings ('Advanced' tab in Mozilla). Select 'Set proxy manually' and enter netmon.iitb.ac.in in the text field provided. Enter 80 for the Port. Enter these settings for all protocols (HTTP, FTP etc) and then go to the 'No proxy for' field. Enter localhost, *.iitb.ac.in there and you are done. Alternatively, select 'Automatic Proxy Configuration URL' and enter www.cc.iitb.ac.in/autoproxy.pac. The second method may not work every time and everywhere so it's best if you stick with the first.

Once you have set the Proxy, you will be asked your user-name and password when you try to access any site. Here you will have to enter your LDAP id (the one starting with z/0, with the general form z10xxxxx).
You will mostly be given a printed sheet with these details.

You can use the Hostel Computer Lab for accessing the Internet (after undergoing the Hostel orientation). The Hostel Xerox shop owner also sometimes lets you surf the Net on payment basis. Check with the shopkeeper for details. The Xerox shop is also the place where you can get notes copied/printed, buy recharge coupons and other things of daily use. Apart from these two, there are two other places from where you can access the Internet.

OSL (Old Software Lab)
The Old Software Lab, or OSL can be found in the Mathematics Department and is the de-facto haunt of many a freshie. Formally used for the Lab exercises of CS101 course, the OSL is filled almost 24/7 with First Year Students of all branches who find it suitable as an air-conditioned refuge from the hustle and bustle of the 'outside world'. Use it productively for practising CS101 programs, checking/sending emails and trying your hands on the UNIX environment (if you are new to it, this is the best time to start). Time slots will be alloted to you in which you can access OSL. You will also realize that relying on being able to use OSL during the last few hours before CS101 project submission is, at best, suicidal. So, better finish your work early.

In the first semester, all students will be given OSL login ids. After that, OSL is open only to CSE students. Contrary to popular belief, NSL (New Software Lab, never mind where it is) is not open to non-CSE students. Venture there at your own peril.

LAN Ban
This term, that you will soon be taught to hate, is used for the highly periodic switching-off of the LAN connection provided in all Hostel rooms. Effectively, the Internet Facility provided to you in the rooms would never work from 12 in the night to 7 in the morning. You might be doing grave work pertaining to academics or watching a movie online - never mind the fact that it aborts heartlessly. You must be ready to go in for a walk to the Comp-room (which would be full; 2-3 computers for 400 hostelites) or the much exclaimed OSL (depends on your urgency).

The LAN Ban has a tumultuous history, which you must have read about in the newspapers, if you are the type whose heart starts fluttering at any news item mentioning IIT. Back in our freshie year (yeah it feels very old and veteran-ly when I say that), apart from the night ban, there used to be an evening ban from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., which was, allegedly, an attempt to encourage people to take part in sports and other evening activities.

Your friends at IIT Kanpur are explicitly forbidden to bring personal computers until the 3rd semester. IIT Delhi and IIT Madras also have LAN Bans, though the exact times may vary. A few IITs have daily data limits too. We get a very fair deal. If that is some consolation, so be it.

[nonedone]

Hi Utkarsh,

Above posts pretty much answer your question already. But let me summarize since you asked.

Yes, we generally have a 12 midnight to 7am LAN-ban during the semester. If you wish to access internet during these timings, you can either use your hostel computer room or internet facility in the academic area (computer labs or WiFi). Both have 24x7 internet facility. Also note that hostel LAN-ban is generally lifted during the exams.

Guys, internet access is the last thing one should worry about in IITB campus

Nandan

[jhonny]

If you are used to laptops and you are sure you won't get distracted from it, we do not have a reason to stop you from bringing it. Our stance is based on our own experience and our experience with juniors. But if you feel you can manage your time in spite of having a laptop, go ahead.

[jhonny]

Yes, you can bring cell phones with wifi service. Please read the posts, it is already mentioned that Academic area has password restricted wifi.

[Shrikant Chavare]

will prefer my wi fi cell over laptop in 1st year 

[Manmohan Mandhana]

Sir,
As u have mentioned in the post that it is not recommended to bring laptops in the first year. But u have  also written that there are only 2-3 computers for 400 hostelites, and I think they will always be busy. So I am not getting a clear view of should I bring or not.
Please help.
and sorry if this que is repeated. I hav searched for it bt didnt found any.
- Manmohan

[darshan yadav]

i have a wifi tablet pc (samsung galaxy ) , it can not use LAN to connect internet so how could i use internet on my tab or i need to bring my laptop.

[Urmil]

Hey guys,

From our experience, you will be better off without a personal computer in your first couple of semesters, since it proves to be more of a distraction for students than an aid. You will only require a computer to check mails and for accessing your lecture notes. As for your emails, you could use the computers in the Old software lab or your hostel computer rooms. Yes, the number of computers in the hostels is a little low, but it is mainly only the freshers that use it, so you should get sufficient time to check mails on them. Also, departments have their own comp rooms, which are accessible 24x7, but you do need to go to the academic area for that. As far as your lecture notes go, you could easily get printouts of them in your hostel xerox shops.

@Darshan: You will find a wifi network in most of the academic buildings. As for the hostels, believe me, the absence of wifi is not going to be an issue at all. If, after you arrive, you really do feel the need for a wifi network, you can purchase a wifi router

[Abhinav Gupta]

Hello

I've a few quick queries.

a) Is there any limit to the internet usage via the ports in the hostel rooms?

b) Is the content accessed via the hostel connection restricted only to academics? If yes, what exactly does academic refer to? Pertaining to class related material or otherwise also?

c) In case I feel the need to bring a data card for internet use, which network works best in Bombay or in the Powai region for that matter?

Thanks
Abhinav

P.S. So, it turns out the hype about "not bringing a laptop" is all about distraction. I was curious.

[Gururaj Saileshwar]

)  Yes there is some daily limit, but that is well beyond normal usage (>500 mb at the least) . Atleast I have never had my IP blocked for excessive usage in the day..

b) No . You can access almost all of your usual sites like gmail, facebook, youtube etc. Sites that are blocked : Almost all filesharing sites, any site with indecent material or pirated material.

c) Highly doubt that you will need a data card. IIT net should be enough for almost all of your needs! In case you still feel the need for it after coming to IIT, feel free to ask around for the best coverage.

[Abhinav Gupta]

Right, thanks

[Umang Shah]

Hello I am quite sure that I won't get sucked into the Gaming hysteria!! I can live without my laptop. If I don't carry my own laptop, how would I be able to practice Computer programs which is a part of 1st Sem?? Like I want to practice them at peace w/o any timing restriction!!

[Prakhar Singh]

There is a computer room in every hostel with 5-10 computers, sufficient enough. Also, students enrolled for CS101 have access to OSL, having about 80 computers. Believe me, you will never be in a situation where there is no computer at your disposal.