Information Technology Services: Wireless Network

Wireless Network Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Simon's Rock network named 'eduroam'?

In June 2012, Simon's Rock joined the EduRoam federation of colleges and universities, and began broadcasting the eduroam SSID, a shared SSID used by all federation members around the world. We also changed the type of WPA2-Enterprise authentication that our system uses, which makes connecting to our network much simpler. Once you have established your eduroam connection on a device, you can get online securely at any eduroam institution, without making any changes to your setup. (This ability to connect on other campuses is why you need to include our domain "@simons-rock.edu" with your username to sign in to eduroam.) More information on eduroam can be found on the eduroam-US site.

If I'm a community member or a visitor who does not have a Simon's Rock LDAP account, what should I do?

If you have been previously set up to connect to the eduroam SSID at a participating institution, you should be able to connect to the Simon's Rock network with no changes. Otherwise, network access requests by on-campus conference attendees should be made through their respective Simon's Rock event or program facilities liasions. For education business visitors, please make your requests to the department you are conducting business with. Simon's Rock does not offer network connections to the general public.

What are the official Simon's Rock Wireless network names?

ITS provides two SSIDs throughout campus: Instructions-for-Eduroam and eduroam. The Instructions-for-Eduroam SSID provides access to these instructions, and to some on-campus websites; you must authenticate to eduroam according to the instructions in order to access the Internet and most campus services.

Some guest SSIDs are broadcast in specific locations, e.g. for Admission's guests at Blodgett.

How can I be sure that I am connecting to the Simon's Rock network rather than a private wifi device?

If you use one of the automatic installers to join the eduroam network, this installer will install the proper certificates to identify the Simon's Rock servers, and your system will connect only to these servers. Otherwise, if you configure your settings manually, then when you first set up your connect ion to eduroam at Simon's Rock, before your system sends your password to our authentication server, it should prompt you to confirm the identity certificate of our server. The server name is pi.simons-rock.edu, and the certificate authority is currently AddTrust External CA Root. This certificate is your only assurance that you are giving your password to the authentic Simon's Rock server rather than an imposter. Once you accept this certificate, your system will authenticate to this server and no other. (Note that the current certificate expires in May 2017, so at some point in the future you may be prompted to accept a new certificate for pi.simons-rock.edu.) Do not connect to any eduroam network that presents any other server name.

Is my Simon's Rock password safe when I connect to eduroam at another campus?

When you authenticate to eduroam from a remote campus, their server will set up a secure encrypted "tunnel" back to our server, pi.simons-rock.edu. Your username and password are sent to pi through this encrypted connection, and pi will respond to the remote server to tell it if your loging was valid. Thus, no other institution can read your password when you log in.

Once you are connected, your wireless traffic is uniquely encrypted, so no other nearby wifi users can capture and understand your network traffic. (However, this encryption is only for the initial wireless link of your path to the Internet. Therefore, you should use only encrypted sites ( https:// instead of plain http:// ) for to enter any passwords and confidential data.

Can I install a wireless access point in my dorm or office?

We strongly discourage the use or operation of 3rd party access points on campus for several reasons. First, incorrectly configured 3rd party access points can cause network traffic loops which will at best degrade the wired network they are connected to, or at worst create a denial of service on the local wired segment. Second, 3rd party access points may be unencrypted and therefore unsuspecting users may not be aware that most of their data will travel over these access points unprotected and especially vulnerable to interception. Furthermore, in areas where there is official Simon's Rock wireless coverage (see Locations), our hardware will attempt to suppress 3rd party access points automatically.

Why can't I connect to websites on the Internet and keep getting redirected to the "Getting Connected" page?

You may be be connected to the Instructions-for-Eduroam SSID, which only allows traffic to some on-campus websites. Following the instructions to successfully authenticate to the eduroam SSID will allow you to get out to the Internet. Alternatively, you may have authenticated but your browser is caching the page. Clear your browser cache. If you are on a Mac, it may have cached the DNS entry for websites; try running 'sudo lookupd -flushcache' in a Terminal.app windows.

I am still having trouble authenticating to 'eduroam', where can I get more help?

You may contact ITS for additional assistance by calling x7371 during normal business hours; email ITS by connecting to the wired ethernet or via a public workstation at its@simons-rock.edu; or during the semester you can locate the Computer Assistant (CA) on duty in the Alumni Library, Sunday-Thursday from 8PM-12AM.