Wireless Network Access

We recognize that you prefer to access networked resources from wherever you find yourself on campus, not from wherever you can find a network jack. For this reason, Macalester's network infrastructure includes wireless Ethernet access across most of campus. There are two types of wireless access available - one for Macalester students, faculty and staff, the other for Macalester's guests and visitors.

MACALESTER and MACALESTER-STUDENT Access - All Macalester students, staff and faculty enjoy full, unlimited network access via wireless, using dedicated wireless network segments ('Macalester-Student' for students, 'Macalester' for faculty and staff members). Each network segment requires an electronic 'key,' which is reset at the beginning of each semester. This semester's keys were distributed via e-mail in August 2009. If you have forgotten the network 'key' for your segment, call the ITS Help Desk at x.6525.

MACALESTER-GUEST Access - Guests and visitors may access some on-campus network services for up to two hours at a time, without a password. These resources are available:

The College Web server, http://www.macalester.edu
The online Directory, http://www.macalester.edu/directory.html
The online Arts & Events Calender, http://events.macalester.edu
The online Giving/Donations site, https://secure.macalester.edu/giving/

Guests cannot access any on-campus systems beyond those listed above, including 1600grand, Google Apps, Moodle and networked printing.

Guests can access off-campus Web resources via regular (http) and secure (https) Web interfaces. Guests cannot access any resource or program other than those listed here, such as chat clients and Internet phone programs (e.g. Skype).

All network use at Macalester College is governed by the Information Technology Responsible Use policy. By attempting to connect to our network, you agree to be bound by this policy and to abide by it.

New for November 2009: Report Wireless Access Problems

Students living on campus are encouraged to report problems and weak spots in our wireless coverage. If you tell us where you run into problems, and give us details about those problems, we know what needs improvement right away. Please use this Web form to report problems with the wireless network. Your reports will be read and used as we continue improving wireless access across campus.

Signal Strength

While our wireless coverage is not completely ubiquitous, we are working incrementally to raise that figure toward 100%. We have concentrated our wireless deployment efforts on instructional spaces, such as classrooms and lecture halls, and on public spaces, such as the Campus Center and the DeWitt Wallace Library. Because denser materials and construction limit the range of wireless network signals, you will probably find wireless in some residence hall rooms and campus offices is too weak for consistent connection. In these locations, you are strongly encouraged to use wired Ethernet connections. If you need an Ethernet cable, please contact the ITS Help Desk (x.6525) or drop by Humanities 314 - we'll give you one, free of charge.

Wireless Access is Shared Access

Please note that wireless networking's convenience comes at a cost. Because it is shared, wireless access is slower than wired, and can become saturated as more and more people try to use it in the same places. If you find your wireless signal is not as strong or as fast as you want, the solution is easy: plug in your Ethernet cable.

Summer and Fall 2009 Wireless Improvement Work

Improving wireless network access on campus is an ongoing project. Here's the progress we made over the summer of 2009:

visited all rooms in all residence halls (except Kirk) to produce room-by-room "heat maps" of signal coverage. (Kirk housed residents all summer. We plan to map its coverage this Fall.)
added a wireless access point (WAP) in Cultural House
added 4 WAPs in Campus Center
added 6 WAPs in Turck Hall
changed several network switches to "power over Ethernet," permitting us to put networking equipment into locations without direct electrical connections

During Fall semester 2009, our priorities for wireless improvements are Kirk Hall, George Draper Dayton Hall and residences in the Stadium. If you live in one of these locations, you may encounter ITS staff mapping current signal strengths and coverage patterns, installing new wireless equipment or re-deploying existing equipment for greater coverage. Other locations on campus will be addressed in Spring 2010.

Improving wireless access does NOT mean just installing more wireless transmitters (we wish it were that simple). If two wireless transmitters' ranges overlap, both will "pull back," thereby reducing the signal still further. More often, our technicians will work to relocate existing wireless access points for optimal signal strength and minimal overlap. Older buildings' construction, with more stone, concrete and structural steel, pose additional challenges.

You can help ITS set priorities for Spring 2010 wireless improvements by reporting areas where the signal is weak or nonexistent to the ITS Help Desk at x.6525. You can also comment on signal strength directly on this form. The more detail you can share with us, the better we will be able to plan. It is helpful to say "the signal is weak in room 201," and even more useful to say "the signal is strong by the hall door in room 201, but gets weaker as you move to the north wall."

Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 USA · 651-696-6000
Comments and questions to ITS Web Group