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Trouble Connecting to UA-WLAN

Why am I having trouble connecting to the UA-WLAN wireless network inside my office, residence hall, etc.?

There are several locations on campus right now that have indoor production, open access, wireless networks.  See our wireless coverage maps for more information. If you are not in one of these locations, it is likely that you do not have a production indoor wireless network within range.

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Trouble Connecting to gizmo

Why does my connection to gizmo intermittently drop?

If you map a drive using netbios resolution (for example: \\gizmo\volumename), you might experience unreliable connections.  Map the drive(s) with the Fully Qualified Domain Name (for example: \\gizmo.uark.edu\volumename) to resolve the issue.

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Response from ipconfig

What does this response from ipconfig mean?

The responses that you get from ipconfig can tell you several different things.

• An IP address beginning with 130.184.x.x means that you have a connection to the University's domain.
• An IP address beginning with 192.168.x.x means that you are on a private network, for instance behind a router or on a LAN.
• An IP address beginning with 169.x.x.x is a Windows default IP address.  This means that you are not connected to the DHCP.  This could be a bad cable, bad network jack, or it could mean that DHCP is down.
• An IP address of 0.0.0.0 means that your Network Card is not functioning properly.  You could have a bad driver.
• If you get the response "Media Disconnected" that means that your network card is not connected or not working.

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Implementing a Wireless Network

Can I implement my own wireless network?

The Department of Information Technology Services is charged with the responsibility for the campus data network. As such, no networking equipment should be connected to the campus network without prior approval. Wireless networks provide an additional challenge.

The University is in the process of expanding the wireless coverage on campus. If a wireless access point that is not part of the production network generates interference that affects performance, we will try to work out a configuration that will allow both to coexist. If that is not possible, the campus production network will take precedence and use of the non-production wireless access point will have to discontinued.

For more information, please see the UA Code of Computing Practices and the University of Arkansas Wireless Airspace Policy

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Which Network to Use

To which public wireless network on campus should I connect?

There are currently two publicly available wireless networks on campus.  These networks are:

UA-WLAN - This is the unencrypted open access wireless network.  UA-WLAN requires virtually no client configuration in order to connect to the network.  Once connected, users must open a web browser and authenticate using their UARK username and password.  This wireless network is available everywhere that our open access wireless is available on campus.

UA-Secure - This is the secure public wireless network.  UA-Secure uses 802.1x PEAP authentication and encryption.  To connect to the UA-Secure network, a certain amount of client configuration is necessary.  UA-Secure is currently available in several areas where there is an open wireless network, but it is not yet available campuswide.

It is recommended that users connect to the UA-Secure network if it is available.  The UA-Secure network provides an encrypted connection which will protect your data while on the open access network.

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Installing Ethernet Switch

Can I install an Ethernet switch in my office?

Yes, however Network Services will only troubleshoot problems from the jack in the wall to the Network Services managed equipment.