Wireless Networking

Where is it Available?

WPI has installed wireless access points in numerous locations across campus. With the proper equipment, this allows wire-free, roaming network and Internet access throughout many locations.

Please note that this is only an approximate list of coverage. Due to the inherently unreliable nature of wireless, the signal quality and data speed will vary widely within a given building based on numerous factors, including the construction of the building, the particular wireless card in use on the client, and ambient noise level. Whenever practical, we recommend the use of a wired connection over wireless.

Over the Summer of 2009, Network Operations installed or upgraded over 200 wireless access points. The list of covered areas is shown below, or you may view a map of coverage changes.

Academic/Administrative Buildings
Building	Speed
28 Trowbridge International House	a/g only
20 Shussler Road OASIS House	a/g only
60 Prescott Street	a/g only
Air Force ROTC	a/g only
Alden Hall	Full 11n
Atwater-Kent	Full 11n
Bartlett Center	a/g only
Boynton Hall	Partial 11n
Campus Center	Full 11n
Fuller Labs	Full 11n
Goddard Labs	a/g only
Gordon Library	Full 11n
Harrington Auditorium	Partial 11n
Higgins House	a/g only
Higgins Labs	Full 11n
Kaven Hall	Partial 11n
Olin Hall	Partial 11n
Salisbury Labs	Partial 11n
Stratton Hall	Partial 11n
Student Counselling Center	a/g only
Wasburn Labs	Partial 11n

Residential Buildings
Building	Speed
16 Elbridge	a/g only
22 Schussler	a/g only
25 Trowbridge	a/g only
26 Hackfeld	a/g only
30 Boynton (East Hall)	a/g only
Daniels Hall	a/g only
Ellsworth Apartments	a/g only
Founders Hall	Partial 11n
Fuller Apartments	a/g only
Institute Hall	a/g only
Morgan Hall	Partial 11n
Riley Hall	a/g only
Stoddard Complex	a/g only

Outdoor Areas
Area	Speed
30 Boynton Plaza	a/g only
Ellsworth Plaza	a/g only
Freeman Plaza	a/g only
Fuller Plaza	a/g only
Football Field	a/g only
Campus Center Lawn	a/g only
Quad	a/g only
Stoddard Plaza	a/g only

What do I Need?

To take advantage of the WPI wireless network, you will need an WiFi compatible wireless network card that has the ability to handle WPA with 802.1x authentication, also called WPA Enterprise. The Wi-Fi Alliance maintains a Certified Products Search Tool that can assist you in finding wireless cards that have passed compatability and compliance testing.

You will need to register the card in the Wireless: Mobile Wireless Systems IP Range through the Network Registration page. (You will need to know your wireless card's MAC address for the registration process. See Finding your Ethernet MAC address for help with this.)

Machines not on the ADMIN domain will also need to get WPI's ESS-ID (Network Name) and certificate files (CCC UNIX username and password required). You will need to enter this information into your wireless card's control panel.

See Configuration Directions for step-by-step instructions for various operating systems.

What kind of encryption does WPI use?

The WPI wireless network supports two levels of encryption. The stronger, recommended level is WPA2 with AES. For clients that do not support WPA2, such as Windows XP, WPA with TKIP encryption is also permitted.

Please note, however, that WPA with TKIP is in the process of being phased out. While we continue to offer it, security research has begun finding weaknesses that, in time, will become full fledged vulnerabilities. Furthermore, 11n capable cards will not operate at full speed without using WPA2. Therefore, we strongly encourage anyone who is able to begin using WPA2 with AES-CCMP now.

In addition, WPI requires a high level of authentication. Specifically, WPI requires 802.1x EAP-TLS certificate based authentication. This is sometimes referred to as WPA Enterprise. Note that devices which only support WPA Personal or Pre-Shared Key (PSK) will not work on the WPI network.

Which wireless speeds does WPI support?

Standard	Maximum Speed	Availability	Notes
802.11b	11 Mbps	All Access Points	Lowest speed, good penetration.
802.11g	54 Mbps	All Access Points	Good speed, good penetration.
802.11a	54 Mbps	All Access Points	Good speed, low penetration, least interference.
802.11n	150 to 300 Mbps	Limited Support	Best range and penetration, but least support. Go here for more details on 11n.

Please note that these are all theoretical speeds only. Your actual connection speed and throughput will vary widely on a number of factors, including but not limited to your distance to the access point, any physical obstructions, such as walls, sources of RF noise, and the total number of clients connected to the access point. Because of the wide uncontrolled nature of many of these sources of interference, we cannot guarantee any minimum level of speed.

My phone has wireless web... can I use that on the network?

There are two different types of wireless data access that are typically found on phones. The first is data access that uses the same radio component as the voice calls. This includes service such as EVDO and EDGE. These services are managed by your cell phone provider.

Some other phones do include a WiFi compatible radio, which may be compatible with the WPI wireless network. The device must support certificate based authentication, and either WPA or WPA2 encryption. While there is no prohibition against using such devices, due to the wide range of different options we are unable to provide any advice or support on purchasing or configuration.

Problematic Devices

While we do not place any particular restrictions on which device may connect to the wireless network (beyond those imposed by the AUP), some devices are known to be incompatible. Typically this is because the device does not support the WPA Enterprise authentication required.

Device	Status	Notes
Windows Mobile 5 Phones	Unlikely to work.	Most cannot import the certificates, and those that can do not properly support the high level of encryption.
Windows Mobile 6 Phones	Varies.	Even on phones that can import the certificates properly, many still have buggy encryption drivers that will not work reliably.
Nintendo Wii	Will not work.	No support for WPA Enterprise. The USB wired Ethernet adaptor will work instead.

Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Jul 17, 2009, 08:34 EDT