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Wireless Users Guide
Technology Services provides standard wireless network access to students, faculty
and staff free of charge. This network may be used to access the Internet or
other network services from locations on the Commerce campus. Due to the nature
of wireless networks and unlicensed radio systems in general, freedom from RF
interference, a particular range, or performance cannot be guaranteed.
What is 802.11b/g/n? How does it work?
802.11x is a networking standard for the wireless transmission of Ethernet. It
is also sometimes referred to as "WiFi". While it is slower than
Ethernet, it is faster than dial-up. Access Points (APs) connected
to the wired network are placed at strategic locations to allow laptops and/or
other devices equipped with a wireless card to communicate with the rest of the
network from any location within the range of the APs.
Currently A&M-Commerce has APs covering most of the classroom buildings plus
the One Stop Shop, the Sam Rayburn Student Center, and the James Gee Library. Coverage is fairly comprehensive
within these structures but users may encounter unavoidable dead spots. These
are found in areas where large concentrations of metal (stairwells, elevator
shafts) or water (trees, people) come between the client computer and an access
point. Also interference can be generated by microwave ovens, cordless
telephones, bluetooth and other wireless mice and keyboards, rogue access points or any other device that radiates RF at 2.4Ghz.
Technology Services has conducted extensive site surveys to determine the best location for
each AP but 100% coverage in all areas is not possible as no two AP's operate on
the same channel and there are limited channels available in wireless. Coupled
with the range limitations and environmental interference this makes wireless
difficult to implement in a comprehensive fashion.
Requirements
Users wishing to connect to the wireless LAN will need the following:
- A laptop, smart phone, or PDA which accepts with Wireless access able to open a web page and run the logon script.
- A Wireless card/adapter.
- The ability to connect to the Wireless network(s) on campus.
Using the Wireless Network
Accessing the Wireless LAN (WLAN) is simple:
- Install the wireless card and driver according to the instructions provided with the device.
- Configure the wireless client software (this
varies between manufacturer - consult your card's
documentation) to: Run in infrastructure mode (as opposed to
ad-hoc if this option is available) and connect to the
"unsecured" network tamu-commerce (if
available) or TAMUC.
Wireless setup dialog box in WindowsXP - other versions use vendor-supplied setup tools and vary in appearance.
- Test your connection by placing the device within range of an AP (access point) and checking any link status or other indicator that comes with the product.
- Verify network connectivity by opening a command prompt and typing ipconfig
<enter>. You should see an IP
address assigned to your adapter as follows: 10.X.X.X (where X refers to any
number between 0 and 255).
Who can use the Wireless Network?
Current students (that is those taking classes in the current as opposed to prospective semester/term) and faculty and staff having a network or Outlook email account can logon to the wireless networks.
It's asking / not asking me to logon. Why/why not?
Technology Services is in the process of upgrading our wireless networks. During the interim, some networks may not ask you to logon. Rest assured that the system will once again require logon when we fully bring it into the new system.
What kind of wireless card do I need?
You need a wireless adapter that is 802.11x (b, g, or n) compliant. As encryption is not being used, it does not matter what level of encryption it supports.
What is an Unsecured Network? Why is yours Unsecured?
WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy is the built-in encryption scheme . It has two shortcomings. The first is that the keys are static (fixed) and must be set up in the AP and each client. These keys must match each other – if the one in the AP ever changes all of the clients must be altered to match it. The second is that WEP is easily broken (see above). Also, as an access control it is unacceptable – since it cannot be changed without affecting every client and every user would have access to it the number of unauthorized (non-student etc) users would quickly increase.
Why is it so important to control who uses the wireless network?
Any user gaining access to an unprotected network is able to use that network for a variety of activities--at the very least consuming bandwidth and at the worst being criminal in nature. (breaking into other systems, sending spam, downloading or distributing child porn…) Such users would be virtually untraceable and the University could be held liable for actions initiated from its network.
Why can’t I share files directly between two client computers?
Inter-client traffic is disabled at each AP for security reasons.
Why does my connection flake out at some location inside building “X” but works well beyond the outside of that building in another direction?
See “How does it work?” at the top of this document.
Why can’t I use certain applications or games on the wireless network?
On the wireless network you pass through two different NAT (network address translation) systems on the way to the Internet. This may affect some peer-to-peer applications and games.