Overview of the new Caltech wireless networks

IMSS is pleased and proud to announce that an anonymous alumnus from Physics and Biology has made a generous donation allowing us to build out a wireless network throughout the campus. The deployment consists of Aruba 6000 Modular Mobility Controllers and over 700 access points.

For the current deployment status of the new wireless networks across campus, please see the following link.

Locations and status of new wireless network deployment

The new Caltech wireless networks being deployed by IMSS support many advanced features, including secured authentication and advanced encryption of wireless traffic. The wireless connection protocol supported is IEEE 802.11b/g. In addition, campus guests will be able to connect without prior registration, which can enhance conference attendance on campus.

Which network is right for me?

In order to take full advantage of the new wireless networks, users are urged to update the device driver for their wireless network card, as well as the underlying operating system (e.g., Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc...). Please see the following page for a list of required and recommended hardware and software to connect to the new Caltech wireless networks, in particular for the encrypted wireless network "Caltech BeaverNet".

Requirements and recommendations on hardware and software

The new system allows a user to connect to any one of the three new wireless networks (SSID) at any single time. The following table summarizes the features associated with each SSID.

SSID	Authentication Required?	Wireless Traffic Encrypted?	Wireless Speed (per user)	Network Protocol Restriction
Caltech Guest	No	No	Up to 768 kb/s	Only HTTP, HTTPS, SSH and VPN* are currently allowed
Caltech Registered	MAC address registration	No	Up to 11 Mb/s	No IP protocol restriction
Caltech BeaverNet	IMSS (access.caltech) account	Yes, using AES	Up to 20 Mb/s	No IP protocol restriction

*In order to create a VPN tunnel over the wireless network, the VPN client must be set to use IPSec over UDP or TCP, NAT-T, OpenVPN, PPTP or L2TP. Native IPSec VPN tunnels are not supported.

In general, use of Caltech BeaverNet is recommended for those users who can take advantage of it.

• If you have a relatively current computer that supports or can be upgraded (as described above) to support 802.1X WPA2 Enterprise authentication, selecting Caltech BeaverNet will provide the best features, performance, and security.
• If you have an older computer or iPhone that does not support 802.1X WPA2 Enterprise authentication, select Caltech Registered. Be sure to register your MAC address with us.
• If you have a device that does not support authentication or does not have a user interface to enter authentication credentials, select Caltech Registered.

For instructions on how to connect to each of the SSIDs above, please follow the links below.

Caltech Guest

The Caltech Guest network is provided as a convenience to Caltech guests, visitors, conference attendees, contractors, vendors and others who are ineligible to receive Caltech credentials. Use of the Caltech Guest network is subject to the following:

• Access to the Caltech Guest wireless network is provided at the discretion of the California Institute of Technology and may be revoked at any time without prior notice.
• The Caltech Guest wireless network is not a secure network. Other users can potentially intercept information you send and receive. Use of encryption is strongly recommended for any sensitive or private information, including passwords.
• Use of the Caltech Guest wireless network is restricted to web (http and https) , Secure Shell (SSH), and Virtual Private Network (VPN) only. Other uses are not allowed.
• Users of the Caltech Guest wireless network are rate-limited and are prevented from communicating directly with each other. All traffic is subject to Network Address Translation.
• Users network traffic will be monitored as part of Caltech's normal network management processes.
• Users are subject to the Caltech Institute Policy on Acceptable Use of Electronic Information Resources.
• Please note that for users of Firefox 3, there is a 10 second delay in the login process. We are working with the vendor to resolve this issue and expect it to be temporary.

Note that guests are expected to use their home institution's VPN to access email or any other resources not available via a web browser.

Connecting to "Caltech Guest" with Windows XP

Connecting to "Caltech Guest" with Windows Vista

Connecting to "Caltech Guest" with Windows 7

Connecting to "Caltech Guest" with MacOSX

Connecting to "Caltech Guest" with Linux

Caltech Registered

The Caltech Registered network is available to users with access.caltech credentials only. If you are not eligible for access.caltech credentials, you may use the Caltech Guest network. If you are eligible for access.caltech credentials but do not yet have an account, please see how to get an access.caltech account.

Connecting to "Caltech Registered" with Windows XP

Connecting to "Caltech Registered" with Windows Vista

Connecting to "Caltech Registered" with Windows 7

Connecting to "Caltech Registered" with MacOSX

Connecting to "Caltech Registered" with Linux

Caltech BeaverNet

The Caltech BeaverNet network is available to users with access.caltech credentials only. If you are not eligible for access.caltech credentials, you may use the Caltech Guest network. If you are eligible for access.caltech credentials but do not yet have an account, please see how to get an access.caltech account.

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with Windows XP

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with Windows Vista -- Short Method

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with Windows Vista -- Manual Method

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with Windows 7

Creating a profile for "Caltech BeaverNet" with Windows 7

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with MacOSX

Connecting to "Caltech BeaverNet" with Linux

Last Update: 2009-02-06 14:06