Wireless Networking at ESSC

This section of the ITS web site has some information about the two wireless networks available through ESSC's wireless access points (WAPs). The three WAPs are located in the corridor outside the conference room, in the first floor Computer Lab and in the second floor printer room, but are intented to provide coverage in all parts of ESSC. The WAPs support the IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g wireless Ethernet protocols, but 802.11g must be used in order to connect at 54Mbit/sec. If your connection speed is significantly lower than this, first check that your wireless network adapter is using 802.11g and not 802.11b. In Windows the default adapter settings normally select 802.11g or higher if it is available, but the adapter can be configured to use 802.11b only. To check this setting in Windows XP, double click on the wireless network icon in the system tray to bring up the connection Status window and and then click the "Properties" button. To edit the adapter settings click on "Configure" at the top and scroll down to the setting called "Wireless Mode" which should list 802.11g as one of the possible protocols. If 802.11g isn't listed or if the "Use default value" box is checked, try selecting another value that includes 802.11g as one of the possibilities. In Windows Vista and 7 the wireless adapter settings can be found by going to via Network and Sharing Centre. If your adapter is using 802.11g and your connection speed drops below 36Mbit/sec, please tell Dan so that ITS can be called in to tweak the WAP settings.

The official way for visitors to connect is via the Eduroam network, but it may also be possible to set up temporary UoR -Guest accounts for meetings by contacting the ITS helpdesk in advance.

The UoR -Guest network supports web based authentication. Once connected to the network, University usernames and passwords can be entered via any web browser. The network login page is displayed as soon as the browser program is started. Usernames should be entered in the format <USERNAME>@reading.ac.uk (e.g. sgs05xyz@readingNOSPAMPLEASE.ac.uk). Please note that the UoR -Guest network will be phased out for security reasons at some point, so staff and students are encouraged to learn how to use the Eduroam network as soon as possible. An interactive Google map showing all Eduroam sites in Europe can be found here.

-- DanBretherton - 29 Oct 2010