The KU wireless initiative is a two-year, $2.6 million project that will add wireless coverage in approximately 100 new public areas, including 32 buildings that will receive their first "KU Wireless Zones." To achieve this coverage, the project will add 700 new wireless access points to the existing 200 access points in the wireless network. Funded by a matching arrangement between Student Senate and the University, the project aims to achieve wireless coverage in 100 percent of classrooms, labs and other selected academic areas on the Lawrence campus by December 2008.
Student Senate provided consultation to Information Services to determine a priority sequence for the buildings included in the network expansion. That sequence is divided into five phases with Wescoe, Fraser and Strong comprising the initial phase. Each phase includes three primary stages:
- A survey of the building and creation of a design for the access points.
- The installation of those access points and other infrastructure.
- Activation of the new access points as part of the wireless network.
Project Status
The project plan describes the projected timeline for the survey/design, installation and activation stages for the buildings in each phase of the project. This information is updated regularly as changes in status occur.
After improvements are made, users will see the following changes in the login process:
- A different authentication screen. Authentication screen will resemble the standard “KU Online ID Login” page, similar to Enroll and Pay or Kyou portal. Log in using your KU Online ID and password.
- A new security certificate. When logging in you should accept the security certificate permanently.
- Web authentication window. Windows XP or Vista users will see a pop-up window verifying that log in was successful. This window will also allow you to log off of the wireless zone.
What is a KU Wireless Zone?
A Wireless Zone is a wireless network connection in which a mobile computer user can connect to the local area network (LAN) by using a wireless network card. The Wireless Zones at KU use technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.
NOTE: The encryption certificate for wireless personal
computers has expired for the campus wireless system. A user may receive
a message advising that the certificate is no longer trusted. A new
wireless service is currently being implemented. Until the new service is fully integrated, users
should use the same precautions in the use of wireless access on the
KU campus as they would at any other public hot spot. If you have questions
or problems, please contact the IT Customer Service Center at 785-864-8080.
What do I need to use a KU Wireless Zone?
- A computer with wireless network card. You can purchase
a wireless network card from the Kansas Union Bookstore.
- A valid
KU Online ID. Visit http://www.ku.edu/computing/services/ for more information or a KUGUEST wireless Online ID. For information about who and how a KUGUEST wireless ID is created, more information is availalble here.
- Any Web browser that supports 128 bit encryption. Some known browsers that meet this requirement are Internet
Explorer 5.5 (or higher), Netscape 6.0 (or higher) and Safari
1.0 (or higher).
How do I connect?
- Take your mobile computer or PDA to a KU Wireless Zone.
- Make sure your wireless card detects the unique Service Set
Identifier (SSID) that is broadcast by the KU Wireless Zones (see
the locations list). If your wireless card is set to automatically
detect the SSID, it should configure your laptop or PDA accordingly.
If your computer does not connect to an access point or receive
a wireless signal, manually enter the SSID in your wireless client.
The SSID for KU faculty, staff and students is JAYHAWK (upper case). Visitors may use the KUGUEST SSID after they have been set up by their KU sponsoring host's department.
- Open your web browser. You
will be asked whether you want to be redirected to a secure site,
which is the wireless authentication gateway. Click "Yes" to
be redirected.
(If you do not receive a redirect prompt, type www.ku.edu (or any web address)
into the address line and click the browser's "Go" button
to be redirected to the wireless authentication gateway.)
- Upon entering the wireless authentication gateway, enter
your KU Online ID and password. Once your authenticated,
you're ready to access the Internet.
It will be necessary to re-authenticate for
the following reasons:
- Each time you connect to a KU
Wireless Zone or move to another KU Wireless Zone.
- If your computer is idle for a long period of
time.
Can I print when I am connected to the KU Wireless Zones?
At this time you can not print from the KU Wireless system to public printers in campus computer labs or in the Libraries. However, faculty and staff with access to Novell Iprint services can print to their departmental printers. Please contact your departmental system administrator or technical staff for more information.
Is there a KU policy for the use of the KU Wireless Zones?
What if I have problems?
How can my department/building get a KU Wireless Access Zone?
You need to contact your Network Administrator or your Technical Liaison
to request a KU Wireless Zone. If you are a Network Administrator/Technical
Liaison and you wish to learn more about what it takes to deploy
a KU Wireless zone visit the
wireless
information site.
-
The KU Wireless Zones are partially funded by KU students through the Tuition Enhancement Technology Funds. The locations of these new zones were selected in collaboration with the KU Student Senate.
- The KU Wireless Zones are managed by KU Information Services. Any
campus wireless resource not on this list is not yet an official
KU Wireless Zone and is likely managed by an individual department.
- Wireless performance may be affected by rain, dense objects between
the user and the wireless antennae, and heavy bandwidth usage by nearby
users.
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