Wireless Networking @
the Kellogg Chicago Campus

In This Document:

Background & Coverage Area

The Kellogg Chicago campus wireless network allows you to access the Internet and the Kellogg network without plugging into an Ethernet jack. In general, a wireless connection works just like a wired Ethernet connection, so you can check email and browse the web while connected to wireless.

Top speed on a wireless network is 11 megabits per second (Mbps)—more than 200 times faster than a 56K modem. Wireless networks are a shared resource, however the more users connected to wireless, the less bandwidth is available to each user. For this reason, wired Ethernet remains the best choice when there is an Ethernet port nearby. Wireless access is intended to supplement wired Ethernet access, not replace it.

Faculty should schedule classes for wired classrooms, not wireless only classrooms, if network access will be a critical part of the class (e.g. a laptop hands-on exercise or exam via laptop). Wired classrooms on Kellogg's Chicago campus are rooms: 107, 347 and 350.

Wireless Etiquette

Please be considerate of your fellow students—the wireless network is a shared resource. Downloading large files (movie trailers, MP3’s, etc.), streaming audio or video, or using file sharing services will slow the wireless network down for everyone, so please refrain from these activities.

Coverage Area

All Kellogg classrooms and group study rooms have wireless coverage. Some classrooms on the Chicago campus are not used by Kellogg and do not have wireless coverage. A complete list of covered classrooms and student common areas covered by the wireless network follows:

  • 1st floor: Classrooms 105, 107, 109, 147, 150, and the student lounge (room 112).
  • 2nd floor: Classrooms 203, 207, 247, 250, and 262.
  • 2nd floor Mezzanine: Faculty lounge, TMP office, and room M250.
  • 3rd floor: Classrooms 305, 307, 309, 347, 347, 350, the cafe (room 323) and fireplace lounge (room 362).
  • 4th floor: Group study rooms.
  • 5th floor: Room 540.

Requirements

Kellogg's wireless network is an 802.11b wireless Ethernet network. To connect to Kellogg's wireless network, your laptop must have an 802.11b compatible wireless Ethernet adapter. 802.11g, 802.11a/b and 802.11a/g wireless cards are also compatible. 802.11a wireless cards are not compatible.

Most new laptops now come with built-in wireless adapters. Please consult your laptop's specifications to find out whether your laptop has a wireless card and, if so, what kind it is (802.11b or 802.11a?).

KIS does not have a specific wireless card recommendation--except that you should not buy a bargain-basement card and expect it to work hassle-free.

WARNING: If you are using a laptop issued by your employer we recommend checking with the IT staff at your company to make sure changing the laptop's network settings will not cause problems accessing your company's network.

Connecting to the network

If you are using Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 98 or another operating system besides Windows XP, please click here to skip ahead.

Windows XP

First, click the Start button and select Control Panel. Double-click Network Connections, then right-click Wireless Network Connection.

Select View Available Networks.

Click the Advanced button.

Click  Add.

Enter ksm in the Network name (SSID) field.

Make sure Data encryption is disabled.

Click OK. Your settings should match those shown to the right or below.

Click OK when finished.

Click the Advanced button (not the Advanced tab).

On the following screen, select Access point (infrastructure) networks only.

Click Close, then click OK.
Once connected, you'll see a pop-up alert like the one to the right.

Now that you have configured your laptop to connect to our wireless network, there are just a few more steps until you can begin using the network. Please skip ahead to Using the Wireless Network.

Earlier versions of Windows and other operating systems

We are unable to offer detailed instructions for previous versions of Windows -- Windows XP was the first version of Windows to incorporate support for wireless networking into Windows. In Windows 2000 and earlier versions of Windows, the wireless card or laptop manufacturer (e.g., Linksys or IBM) provides software that handles connecting to wireless networks. You will need to consult your wireless card manual or laptop manual for instructions. You will need to know our wireless network's SSID (name) to configure your laptop to connect to it. The network SSID (name) for the Kellogg wireless network is ksm.

Macintosh computers
Northwestern IT has documentation to help you connect a Macintosh laptop to the wireless network. When using the documentation, please use our network name (ksm) in place of the Northwestern University network name (nuwlan). The documentation is available at:

www.tss.northwestern.edu/wireless/

Using the wireless network

The Kellogg wireless network requires you to connect to Northwestern's Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to check email or browse the Web. Connecting to VPN secures the network by encrypting the information you send over the network and by restricting access to Northwestern students, faculty, and staff.

Configuring VPN

You can not check email or browse the web on the wireless network until you connect to VPN. Instructions for configuring a Windows XP computer to connect to the VPN server follow. For other operating systems, please visit the links below for instructions.

Windows XP: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kis/docs/howto/network/vpn
Macintosh: www.tss.northwestern.edu/vpn/

Windows XP
If you have already configured your laptop to connect to Northwestern's VPN server, please skip ahead.

1. Go to the Start menu, select All Programs, then Accessories, then Communications, then New Connection Wizard. Click Next.

2. Select Connect to the network at my workplace.

3. Select Virtual Private Network connection and click Next.

4. When prompted to specify a Company Name, type NU VPN. Click Next.

5. Select Do not dial the initial connection.

Click Next.

6. Enter vpn-public.vpn.northwestern.edu in the Host name or IP address field.

7. If you would like to create a shortcut on the desktop to the VPN server, check the box for Add a shortcut for this connection to my desktop.

8. Click Finish. Your new VPN connection is almost ready for use.

9. Right-click on the icon for your new VPN connection (if you don't have the Network Connections folder open, you can find it in the Start menu, under Control Panel, then Network Connections). Select Properties.

10. Click the Networking Tab.

11. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.

12. Click the Advanced button.

13. Click the WINS tab.

14. Click Add and enter the addresses for the primary and secondary WINS servers: 129.105.97.50 and 165.124.194.20. Your settings should match those shown at right.

15. Click OK until you've closed all three network configuration windows.

Your VPN connection is now ready for use!

Connecting to VPN

To connect to VPN, either double-click your desktop shortcut to NU VPN, or click the Start button, select Control Panel, double-click Network Connections, then NU VPN.

Once you are connected to VPN, you can check email and browse the web.

Troubleshooting

If you're having trouble connecting to wireless, we have some suggestions, depending on whether you're unable to connect at all or your connection is intermittent.

If you're unable to connect at all

If you are connected to wireless but cannot check e-mail or browse the Internet, please make sure you are connected to VPN.

If you are connected to the wireless network but are unable to conenct to VPN or the Kellogg home page (www.kellogg.northwestern.edu), you probably need to adjust your network settings: at Kellogg your wireless adapter must be set to obtain an IP address automatically and to obtain DNS server addresses automatically. Some companies use static IP addresses, which do not work outside of your office. Instructions on how to switch your laptop to dynamic addressing are available here:

Windows XP: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kis/docs/howto/network/networkconfig/winxp-settings.htm#tcpip
Windows 2000: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kis/docs/howto/network/networkconfig/win2k-settings.htm#tcpip

WARNING: If you are using a laptop issued by your employer we recommend checking with the IT staff at your company to make sure changing the laptop's network settings will not cause problems accessing your company's network.

To troubleshoot other wireless connectivity problems, first make sure that you're in an area with wireless coverage. See our coverage area list to confirm.

Make sure that you have not enabled WEP for the ksm network. To check:

    1. Select Start, Control Panel, Network Connections
    2. Right click Wireless Connection, Select Properties
    3. Click the Wireless Networks tab.
    4. Select ksm from the list of Preferred Networks (not Available Networks) and click Properties.
    5. Make sure WEP is disabled.
    6. Click OK

Your connection is intermittent

If you have problems with your laptop occasionally losing its wireless connection, we have a few suggestions.

First, verify that your laptop is set for “infrastructure networks only.” Many student laptops are set to “any available network.” We recommend changing this setting immediately to infrastructure networks only. To do this:

    1. Select Start, Control Panel, Network Connections
    2. Right click Wireless Connection, Select Properties
    3. Select View Available Wireless Networks
    4. Click Advanced
    5. Click Advanced again (the Button at the bottom, not the Tab at the top)
    6. Select Access point (infrastructure) networks only, as illustrated at right.
    7. Click Close
    8. Click OK

If you have been connecting to other wireless networks besides Kellogg, you probably have a long list in your wireless history. Windows XP handles this by attempting to connect to each of these other networks in order. Each failed connection must time out before your computer attempts to connect to Kellogg wireless. We recommend that you delete any wireless networks that you will not connect to regularly. In addition, we recommend that you “promote” ksm to be your top wireless network. To do this:

    1. Select Start, Connect To, Show All Connections
    2. Right click Wireless Connection, Select Properties
    3. Click the Wireless Networks tab
    4. Under Preferred Networks, select and then remove any networks that you no longer want
    5. Click ksm and then click “Move Up” until it is the top Preferred Network
    6. Click OK
Finally, make sure you're giving the laptop enough time to connect to wireless before trying to use wireless. When you first open your laptop and wish to connect to wireless, give it 60 seconds to do the initial connection with the wireless access point. Once this has happened you will see the double-computer icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. After waiting 60 seconds for this to happen, then initiate the NU VPN login. By giving your computer a minute to do the initial handshake, you will have better success. After successfully logging in to VPN, you will see 2 double-computer icons in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Support

If you have trouble connecting to the wireless network, contact the KIS Technical Support Center (TSC) at 847-467-2100. During the school year, the TSC is open for phone support from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday. The TSC supports Windows XP.

Students using other operating systems (including Windows 2000 and MacOS) should contact Northwestern IT. NUIT's Evanston Support Center provides phone support at 847-491-HELP (4357). NUIT also has a Chicago Support Office open for walk-in support on Mondays and by appointment Tuesday-Friday.

 

Last update: June 26, 2006