If you’ve been surfing YouTube the past week, whether for academic purposes or for your video fix, you might have noticed something interesting – Inetkey wasn’t always necesary to access videos. And you observation would be correct.

Good news for us, but we first we need to explain how it works so you won’t be caught off guard.

Stellenbosch University’s internet is routed through Tenet (The Tertiary Education and Research network), a network infrastructure aiming to provide the best possible internet infrastructure to academic institutions. For this reason Tenet’s server is open and accessible to SU staff at no cost and without Inetkey.

But how is this relevant to YouTube? Tenet is hosting a version of YouTube on it’s server cache to enable easier and faster access for their users.

To establish which network should be used for a request and to select the shortest route  for traffic to travel to follow, Google uses algorithms, also known as geo-tagging. In our case Google decides to direct your YouTube request to Tenet instead of one of their servers located overseas.

The risk in the current situation is that Google might decide to use another cache for optimal network capacity and free content will change to paid content once again.

All YouTube content isn’t necessarily part of the cache. Tenet caches the data according to demand. To ensure you don’t pay, keep’Inetkey closed when browsing YouTube.

However, until Google changes it’s route, you can play around on YouTube to your heart’s content. Just remember to keep your Inetkey closed, otherwise you’re in for a big surprise at the end of the month.

Indien jy die afgelope week YouTube besoek het – of dit nou om akademiese redes was of vir jou weeklikse video-fix, sou jy opgemerk het Inetkey nie noodwendig nodig was nie. En jou observasie sou heeltemal reg wees.

Goeie nuus, maar daar is ‘n stertjie aan die storie. Kom ons verduidelik eers hoekom dit skielik so is. 

Universiteit Stellenbosch se internet word herlei deur Tenet (The Tertiary Education and Research network), ‘n netwerk met die doel om die beste moontlike infrastruktuur aan akademiese instansies te verskaf. Derhalwe is Tenet se bediener oop vir US-personeel en kan toegang gratis, sonder Inetkey, verkry word. 

Maar wat het YouTube hiermee te doen? Tenet huisves ook die afgelope tyd ‘n weergawe van YouTube in sy kasgeheue, sodat gebruikers makliker en vinniger toegang kan kry.

Om te bepaal watter netwerk gebruik moet word vir ‘n versoek en die kortste pad waarheen verkeer herlei moet word, te bepaal, gebruik Google algoritmes, of te wel geo-tagging. In ons geval besluit Google om jou YouTube-versoek eerder na Tenet te wys in plaas van na hulle oorsese bedieners.

`n Risiko bestaan wel dat, indien Google besluit om ‘n ander cache te gebruik vir beter netwerkkapasiteit, die gratis inhoud kan terugverander na betaal-inhoud. 

Let wel, ALLE YouTube videos is nie outomaties deel van die kasgeheue nie – Tenet bêre die data volgens aanvraag. Om te verseker jy betaal nie, hou jou Inetkey gesluit wanneer jy YouTube besoek.

Tot tyd en wyl Google sy roete verander kan jy gratis op YouTube rondspeel. Onthou net om jou Inetkey toe te maak, anders kan jy ‘n lelike verrassing aan die einde van die maand kry.