CBE/MSE Wireless Networking Policies

The OSU Office of Information Technology (OIT) is working on an official policy document for wireless networking on campus. There are already a number of requirements which they have published, and based on these policies, we have developed the following to address wireless networking requests on the local network.

Some Common Acronyms

LAN = Local Area Netwwork: The infrastructure within the local building complex comprised of network switches, cables, etc. which provides access to other network-connected devices and the Internet.

WAP = Wireless Access Point: The device which provides connectivity between the wired network and a wireless network. For example, Apple's AirPort is a WAP. (For the purposes of this document, a WAP includes true WAPs, which only serve to bridge wired and wireless networks, and wireless routers, which interconnect two different networks.)

WLAN = Wireless LAN: The infrastructure of one or more WAPs and devices connected to the network via those WAPs.

Wireless (a.k.a. WiFi) Limitations

Across the frequency spectrum allocated for use by 802.11b/g devices, there are only three (3) non-overlapping channels available. It is mathematically impossible to map three channels across three dimensions with full coverage without two adjacent coverage areas using the same frequency. To limit contention (a.k.a. channel interference), WAP placement must be carefully coordinated. This is why it's not possible for just anyone to go out and buy a WAP for use here without coordination by IT management. To allow this would lead to sheer chaos.

There is currently no commercially viable wireless networking technology that approaches the speed of a wired connection. The local network backbone supports speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second) and plans to upgrade the wired backbone are in the works to move to 1Gbps (one gigabit per second). The theoretical maximum speed of WiFi is currently 54Mbps, but the more users that connect to a single WAP, the slower the speed gets. What's more, since our WAPs support not only 802.11g (at 54Mbps), but also the slower 802.11b (at 11Mbps), if even one person connects to a WAP at the slower speed, all subsequent connections to that WAP run at the slower speed for the duration of their connections or until the slower connection is terminated, whichever comes last.

Current Policies

Wireless connectivity within the building complex is considered an extension to the existing network backbone, not as a means to provide connectivity for a subset of users. A WAP may be installed to serve a group of systems for academic purposes when the wired alternative doesn't exist or would be impractical to implement.

All WAPs connected to the network are to be managed exclusively by

Site management must be contacted before attaching a WAP to the network, since it's very important to determine if the installation of a WAP is even necessary/possible, and if so, the optimal placement of the WAP. In general, it is not efficient to limit access to a WAP to a subset of departmental users, and depending on the particular WAP device under consideration, such limitation may not even be possible. Assuming installation of a WAP is possible, placement of the WAP is fixed and permanent. Anyone discovered attaching a WAP without prior consent from will be subject to the terms of the Enforcement clause of OSU Policy on Responsible Use of University Computing Resources.

All wireless traffic MUST be encrypted. The currently supported standard for wireless data encryption on the local WLAN is known as Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Any WAP to be installed on the LAN MUST support and enforce 128-bit WEP. What's more, WLAN users should consider additionally encrypting their data with a second protocol, like SSH, since WEP is currently known to have security holes which could allow unauthorized data capturing. To maintain compatiblity with future authentication plans, computers that are to be connected to the local wireless network should also support the WPA protocol. This is a much more secure protocol than WEP, and will allow management to provide for authentication based on ECR6 username and password.

Computers must be configured to allow the operating system to manage their wireless connections. In particular, Windows XP needs to directly manage the wireless connection, not the software which might be provided by the wireless card or computer manufacturer.

Operating System requirements - As mentioned, above, computers (and wireless cards) will need to be able to handle the WPA protocol in the future. Specifically, we will be employing what's commonly known as the "WPA Enterprise" protocol for authentication. For Mac users, you will need to be running Mac OS X v10.3 or better. Windows users must be running under Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed.

Many WAPs support routing via Network Address Translation (NAT). Routing of any kind is NOT permitted, except as mandated by If you wish to have a WAP installed, it MUST support bridging between the wired network and the wireless network. Consult your WAP's documentation or the support mechanism(s) provided by your WAP's manufacturer for this information.

Coverage

Our deployment plans call for covering the computing labs and various meeting rooms around the building complex. Coverage will NOT encompass the entire building complex. The following details where areas of coverage are currently centered:

Building Room(s)

Koffolt 134 (Computing Facility), 217 (Unit Ops), 221b (conf. room), 310 (Computation Labs)

Fontana 347

MacQuigg 069, 448

Watts 177b, 197 (Computing Facility), 292, 477

Building	Room(s)
Koffolt	134 (Computing Facility), 217 (Unit Ops), 221b (conf. room), 310 (Computation Labs)
Fontana	347
MacQuigg	069, 448
Watts	177b, 197 (Computing Facility), 292, 477

Ideally, an area of coverage is spherical, so access is often from a WAP above or below you. Due to reflection or shielding contributed by certain building materials, though, a WAP's sphere of coverage is often incomplete.

Campus-Wide Wireless

Besides the above departmental areas, osuwireless is available in and/or near the classrooms within the building complex. This is a separate and distinct network from the departmental backbone. Please see the cited link for details. Access to osuwireless is typically much easier to arrange than access to the departmental backbone. It should be noted, however, that certain resources available on the departmental backbone are not accessible via the osuwireless infrastructure (e.g. Windows file sharing).

Wireless Signal Visibility

If you do not see either the departmental "CBE-MSE WLAN" wireless network or the University's "osuwireless" wireless network on your system, you will not be able to use wireless networking, here.

Arranging Access

You will be provided with authentication instructions when your computer is configured. To request access to the departmental backbone for your system, please see this link. The instructions provided for requesting access must be followed explicitly.

Access to the osuwireless system is handled solely by the Office of Information Technology (OIT), through the Web site provided, above, under Campus-Wide Wireless.