I'm wondering if anyone knows how to set up a wifi router to just spread a wifi signal instead of acting as an actual router. I live in a dorm for about 8 months out of the year and am wondering if there is any way to set up a wifi hot spot in my dorm room so I would not be tethered to my desk. It would not compromise the security of the network since all users have to log in before they are granted access. I know the IT department sorta frowns on this, but they generally don't care as long as you are setting up an unrestricted path to the network.
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Setting up wifi in a dorm.
- Thread starter millsy
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AFAIK there isn't a way to do what you want, here.
By definition a wireless router is going to be giving out IP addresses, which is what I imagine your university IT service won't allow.
By definition a wireless router is going to be giving out IP addresses, which is what I imagine your university IT service won't allow.
chances are it is against the rules of your college. IT does not frown on it. They flat out say no to it.
It should just hook up like a normal wireless router. Other wise yes it is against the rules.
It should just hook up like a normal wireless router. Other wise yes it is against the rules.
I just wanted to know if there is a way to hook up a wireless product (router or whatever) to one of the ethernet ports in my suite to spread the signal so I wouldn't have to sit at my desk when I wanted to use my notebook. I know a lot of people in my dorm do it, I just want to know how.
No, a router can only create its own subnet. The IP-addresses created by it only exist downstream of the router. It cannot create privileges higher than those of the router itself.
It depends on the router. If your router comes with the option of acting as a wireless access point then you can do it. The router then, instead of being a router, just acts as a node on the network. Alternatively, you can go out and buy a wireless access point. Whether IT will let your do it, and whether it will be pain to set up because of IT is another question.
college IT department general speaking do not like routers because IT then has no way of knowing how many computers are connected to the network and it is harder to control them all.
IT departments general ban all wireless routers because with the wireless route they have no way of knowing where the computer is connected to the network and have little to no control of keeping people off the network.
Routers both wireless and non wireless are against the rules because it harder to control what is on the network because they can not see past the router. wireless is by far worse.
Call your schools IT department. If they will not help you it is agaist the rules and chances are really good it is against the rules.
The rules are in place not because the IT department is being stupid but to protect the network. You have to remember they have 1000's of computers on it and it only takes one of them to cause a lot of problems. Routers make it a lot harder to track down the offending computer. Also rememeber IT job is to protect the network first.
IT departments general ban all wireless routers because with the wireless route they have no way of knowing where the computer is connected to the network and have little to no control of keeping people off the network.
Routers both wireless and non wireless are against the rules because it harder to control what is on the network because they can not see past the router. wireless is by far worse.
Call your schools IT department. If they will not help you it is agaist the rules and chances are really good it is against the rules.
The rules are in place not because the IT department is being stupid but to protect the network. You have to remember they have 1000's of computers on it and it only takes one of them to cause a lot of problems. Routers make it a lot harder to track down the offending computer. Also rememeber IT job is to protect the network first.
Adding an access point would not create an open signal for anyone to log on to. You would still have to log in through the firewall gateway before you are granted access.
depends on the school set up. A lot of routers can be set up to logging on to the network for you. This allows one to skip security the school has set up and make an open access point.
A school can not see past a router of any type so they do not know what computers are on it. But that person hiding behind the router can do a lot of damage to the school network.
Depends on the school....
The IT department at my university couldn't care less, as long as you secure the wireless network and don't plug in one of the LAN ports into the wall jack (people do this, it takes over as DHCP server for everyone on that switch, typically 3 floors in the dorm are connected to one switch, so that's bad). As someone who works in that IT department, do we (or at least me personally) frown upon it? Yes, because people do in fact do dumb things like plug a LAN port into the wall and kill internet access to about 60 rooms and it can be a PITA to fix, but if it's done properly, then we don't care. We even encourage students to bring routers to us first so we can make sure they're configured properly and to show them which port goes to what.
Rodimus, I disagree about being able to do a lot of damage. Besides the wrong port thing I mentioned, you can't do anymore behind a router than you could while plugged directly in. Depending on the uni, you probably have to register MAC addresses before a device can use the network. If using a router, all you need to do is register the router's MAC and there's no need to register the MACs of any computers behind the router. And all traffic comes from the router's MAC, so if you do something dumb and the IT department blocks you, they'll block your router's MAC, which effectively blocks any computer behind that router.
The IT department at my university couldn't care less, as long as you secure the wireless network and don't plug in one of the LAN ports into the wall jack (people do this, it takes over as DHCP server for everyone on that switch, typically 3 floors in the dorm are connected to one switch, so that's bad). As someone who works in that IT department, do we (or at least me personally) frown upon it? Yes, because people do in fact do dumb things like plug a LAN port into the wall and kill internet access to about 60 rooms and it can be a PITA to fix, but if it's done properly, then we don't care. We even encourage students to bring routers to us first so we can make sure they're configured properly and to show them which port goes to what.
Rodimus, I disagree about being able to do a lot of damage. Besides the wrong port thing I mentioned, you can't do anymore behind a router than you could while plugged directly in. Depending on the uni, you probably have to register MAC addresses before a device can use the network. If using a router, all you need to do is register the router's MAC and there's no need to register the MACs of any computers behind the router. And all traffic comes from the router's MAC, so if you do something dumb and the IT department blocks you, they'll block your router's MAC, which effectively blocks any computer behind that router.
Sure you can do it, but if you set it as a Wifi hotstpot then anyone within range can connect to your network, and use the internet under your Username and Bandwidth.
Here's how I did it at my university last year. They had some pretty heavy duty Cisco software keeping it locked down too.
I had a D-Link router. Not sure which. DI-514 I believe.
Register your computer on the network via ethernet as you usually would.
Link up to your router via ethernet
Have it clone your MAC address (read the manual if you don't know how to do that, 99% of routers have this option)
While you're in the router, set up some sort of security. A password is enough in most university settings.
Plug in the net link to your router
Enjoy wireless internet.
I had a D-Link router. Not sure which. DI-514 I believe.
Register your computer on the network via ethernet as you usually would.
Link up to your router via ethernet
Have it clone your MAC address (read the manual if you don't know how to do that, 99% of routers have this option)
While you're in the router, set up some sort of security. A password is enough in most university settings.
Plug in the net link to your router
Enjoy wireless internet.
'
Well the damage is more in the terms of viruses and Uni like to know EXACTLY what computer is spreading it around and it is a lot harder to track it if they run through another router. The biggest problem they have is with servers being run off their networks and huge uploading.
As for the DHCP never knew about that one. Most routers today have a dedicated internet port on them. If you plug you lan into that one nice thing about it is it will not mess with the schools network at all no matter what your setting are. At least that is how my linkysing router worked.
Well, the way my uni does it, and I'm sure others do, is they shut off the port and/or MAC address. If my computer has a virus or is running a server or doing something else it shouldn't, the router's MAC will be blocked. This will block my computer and any other computer connected to the router, accomplishing IT's goal of getting me shut off from the network. They might also shut off the port I'm connected to, having the same effect.
The DHCP thing is rather interesting, and in the end, due to stupidity....the routers do have a dedicated internet port. They have a few LAN ports, usually 4, for your computer, and an internet/WAN port that plugs into, you guessed it, the internet. The router's internal DHCP server will try to sign an IP to any computer plugged into that LAN port (and that includes any computer plugged into any switch that's plugged into that LAN port). So when the students in the dorms doesn't RTFM and use common sense, they'll plug one of their LAN ports into the wall. Well, that wall jack goes to a switch, and on that same switch are a ton of other computers, and when those computers try to get a new IP (either they just booted up or the lease expired), they'll end up getting an IP from the router's DHCP server instead of the school's DHCP server, and then that's when sh*t hits the fan (by sh*t hitting the fan, I mean people calling the IT help desk because they're being deprived from WoW and it's the end of the world). Of course, if people would plug the cable from their wall jack to the WAN port, there would be no problems and it would work like it's supposed to without messing with the network. But I suppose common sense is too much to ask of some people
