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Wireless Network Client Setup Instructions
-Roger Linhart
To access any of the SOU wireless access points, you need a laptop computer or other portable computing device with 802.11b wireless access capabilities. If your operating system does not support auto-discovery of wireless access points you will need to configure your wireless adapter with appropriate settings to use the wireless service. The settings are as follows:
- SSID = SOU-OpenNet
- Client Name = <Your Name>
- WEP = Disabled
- Authentication Type = Open
- LEAP = Disabled
- Power Save Mode = CAM
- Infrastructure Mode = Yes
When entering the SSID setting be sure to observe the significance of upper and lower case letters. The Client Name setting can be your full name or if you are faculty, staff or student your Novell account name.
The method for entering the settings varies by manufacturer and model so detailed instructions for every possible configuration aren't possible. See the instructions below for generic steps to configure your wireless adapter.
Setting up a Macintosh computer to access the Wireless Service
For OS 9:
- Open the TCP/IP Control Panel, and use the "Connect via" popup menu to select "AirPort". Use the "Configure" popup menu to select "Using DCHP server". Close the TCP/IP Control Panel. (If you're going to switch back and forth between this setup and another one, you might want to make a new Configuration, using the File menu in the TCP/IP Control Panel).
- Using the Control Strip (usually at the bottom of your screen), click on the orange Airport icon and select the network. If you aren't using the Control Strip, you can also use the "Choose network" popup menu in the "Airport" application to select the network name.
- There is no step 3. That's it! Just go surfing! You can check the signal strength through the Control Strip or "Airport" application.
For OS X:
- Drop down the AirPort icon from the MenuBar. (It looks like this:
) and Open internet Connect. If AirPort is not on, turn it on. Select "SOU-OpenNet" from the "Network:" pull-down menu. You will see a slider bar that displays the strength of your signal.
- To connect to the Internet, click the "Connect to Internet" button in the Status section at the bottom of this window.
Setting up a Windows computer to access the Wireless Service
Configure the wireless adapter
- Open the Configuration Utility for your wireless adapter.
- Enter the settings given above.
- Click the OK button to exit the Configuration Utility.
Configure TCP/IP for the wireless adapter
- Open the Network control panel (Start - Settings - Control Panel then double-click Network).
- From the Configuration tab, in the list of network components, click on the icon for your wireless adapter then click the Properties button.
- From the Bindings tab, in the list of protocols, check the check box for TCP/IP. Click the OK button. (If you don't see TCP/IP in the list, you may need to first unbind TCP/IP from another network adapter, for example, an Ethernet card. If TCP/IP isn't listed for any network adapters, you may need to click the Add button to add the TCP/IP protocol.)
- Still in the Network control panel, from the Configuration tab, in the list of network components, click on the icon for TCP/IP -> <Wireless Card> then click the Properties button. (If your wireless adapter is the only network adapter you'll only see TCP/IP in the list.)
- From the IP Address tab, select Obtain an IP address automatically then click the OK button.
- Still in the Network control panel, click the OK button. The computer will do some processing now. Be patient. Then the computer may tell you to reboot. In some versions of Windows you don't need to reboot, but to be safe, go ahead and reboot.
- Once the computer has rebooted, test the wireless service by opening your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, ...) and see if you can access any web pages. Most wireless adapter driver software has a utility to let you check your signal strength. If you encounter difficulties try moving to a different location while watching your signal strength.
