Information Technology is pleased to announce the availability of a new wireless service that has been added to the campus network (SCUNet).   This service has coverage for the majority of academic and administrative buildings on campus, as well as the residence halls.   Details of specific coverage areas can be found at the I.T. website URL http://it.scu.edu/information/Network/wireless/ . During winter quarter coverage will be extended to other campus buildings and most of the outdoor areas.
 
The wireless network is still a work in progress, and your patience and assistance in the first weeks of use of the network can greatly help make wireless networking a success. In addition to the coverage expansion, IT will be tuning the location and signal strength of the wireless radios (Access Points, or APs) to optimize coverage and performance. If you find an area where signal strength is weak, please notify us via the WiFi "poor connectivity" form found here <http://it.scu.edu/information/Network/wireless/WiFiLocation.shtml> , or see the web URL referenced above.  If you encounter other problems, please call the Student Help Desk (551-1705) if you are a student, or the I.T. Service Center (554-5700 or itsc@scu.edu) for faculty and staff.
 
Hearty thanks are due to the IT network design team of Eddie Butler, Jason Meador, and Todd Schmitzer for overcoming some last-minute technical problems that required help from vendor technical staff, many of whom are scattered throughout the country.
 
How to connect to the new wireless service: 

1.  If you are on-campus and have a computer with a wired connection, view the web page listed above and see the "Configuring the Wireless Network Adapter" information found there.    
 
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2.  If you have a laptop with wireless capability, simply "View Available Wireless Networks" and look for the wireless network named SCUInfo and connect to it.  Once it shows "connected", open a browser and follow the instructions on the page that appears.   You will need to authenticate using your SCU network ID (this is your Novell ID and password, not your eCampus or GroupWise ID and password.)   Please note that SCUInfo is NOT the new wireless service, it is a mechanism by which you can obtain the information for the actual wireless network service.   Once you have set up the wireless configuration on your laptop (follow the instructions on the web page you are taken to), you will not need to access SCUInfo again.
 
Warnings and potential issues
 
Please remember that wireless technologies are relatively insecure.  For security and privacy, SCU does not broadcast the wireless ID (which is why you must go to the web page, or use SCUInfo to get it), and we employ only a basic encryption.  Still, you should not consider data being transmitted over wireless as being secure unless you are taking additional steps to insure your security and privacy (such as with VPN or SSL communications.)
 
The old Vernier wireless (vn1-scu-wl) will be turned off sometime on Tuesday, January 2nd, to minimize the interference from the Vernier APs with the SCUNet APs.   In the few places where needed, new SCUNet wireless APs will replace the Vernier APs as quickly as possible.  
 
Also, now that the university is providing a relatively comprehensive wireless service, individuals and/or groups who are operating their own wireless APs (also known as wireless routers) will be required to remove them.   All APs use relatively limited frequency ranges to broadcast and the independent APs will cause interference with and performance problems for the SCUNet APs.  So, please, if you are operating an independent AP, disconnect it. 

If you require additional assistance, please contact the Student Help Desk (551-1705) or the I.T. Service Center (554-5700 or itsc@scu.edu).  And again, there is information on the I.T. web site http://it.scu.edu/information/Network/wireless/ .
 
Carl Fussell
Director, Information Technology
Santa Clara University