Network Configuration

Required Ports and Protocols

Table 1 lists the ports and protocols used by the TDS. Ensure that all content filters, firewalls, and proxy servers are open accordingly.

Configuring Session Timeouts

Session timeouts on proxy servers and other devices should be set to values greater than the average time it takes a student to participate in a test session or to complete a given test. For example, if a school determines that students will test in 60-minute sessions, then consider setting the session timeout to 65 or 70 minutes.

Data Caching

Data caching is a technique by which an intermediate server checks if it can serve the client’s requests instead of a downstream server. While data caching is a good strategy in some situations, its overhead is detrimental in the online testing environment. Ensure all intermediate network elements, such as proxy servers, do not cache data.

Turn Off SSL Inspection

A network administrator should disable SSL inspection at the server level or set an SSL bypass rule, using the URLs in the Allowlisting Test Site Resource URLs for Online Testing topic, for the secure browser for the following reasons:

• SSL decryption can compromise the validity of the testing packets being transmitted.
• To ensure a connection to the secure browser, disable the SSL inspection, because an SSL inspection of traffic from the test site to CAI may generate errors within the secure browser.
• Packets of testing information carry secured student information and test information such as test items and student responses.

Quality of Service and Traffic Shaping

If the testing network includes devices that perform traffic shaping, packet prioritization, or Quality of Service, ensure the URLs in the Allowlisting Test Site Resource URLs for Online Testing topic have high priority.