The ECE department-wide wireless network service went into service in April 2007. The system, from Colubris Networks, provides coverage in all ECE offices, research labs, and graduate student areas in Bahen Centre, Galbraith, Sanford Fleming, Pratt and Engineering Annex. (In locations that are not served by the Colubris wireless system, e.g. some lecture halls in Bahen and Sandford Fleming, you might be able to access the university's UTORcwn Campus Wireless Network, instead.)

Our Colubris wireless network will appear with the SSID “Colubris Networks”. Security on this network uses a “captive portal”: on connecting, open a web browser; it will automatically redirect to a web login screen where you enter your Colubris login and password once to activate the connection. Sessions are encrypted, and the password exchange uses a secure process.

Accounts on this wireless system are intended for short-term transient connections for mobile devices, due to limited resources. If you plan to use your laptop as your main desktop computer, you should ask your supervisor to pay for a more reliable wired connection.

Users wishing to use the wireless network should acquire a Colubris login and password from us (ecehelp AT ece.utoronto.ca). Please let us know:

• your full name;
• your login name for your ECE research group network (eecg/comm/psi/dsp/waves/ele/control/met/light/vrg; if you have no account in ECE, suggest your desired login name);
• your supervisor (if you are a grad, RA or Postdoc);
• your wireless card's MAC address; and
• whether or not your supervisor is sponsoring a wired network connection for another computer for you.

We will arrange for a login and password on the system.

All laptop users within ECE are entitled to use the WLAN and to have their own unique login. Please DO NOT SHARE your login with anyone. For short-term visitors, we may provide a small number of “guest” logins.

The wireless network controller will assign IP addresses dynamically via DHCP. Windows users simply leave the settings on your wireless interface on “Obtain address automatically” which is the default. This allows your laptop to connect to any wireless services to which you may also have access elsewhere, such as at home.

Wireless clients will be placed in their own class C subnet, 128.100.70.0 /24. Addressing will be truly dynamic, in that a given machine may be assigned a different address in different sessions. With a Class-C subnet we have space for 250 clients at any given time.

The wireless subnet will be on its own separate VLAN for security purposes. Access to services on other subnets behind their own firewalls will be via a VPN server we have set up. Logins on the VPN are created separately from the wireless logins. Our research computing support group will take care of these firewall and VPN issues. Email ecehelp AT ece.utoronto.ca for all questions and support requests about access to network services and the VPN.

Our policy for what kinds of access will be permitted are similar to those for Tier 2 client machines: account holders may access their samba network shares and shared printers; network software licenses will be routed through the VPN on request. Windows Remote Desktop access will also be provided on request, although we will need to monitor the traffic impact of RDT over the VPN. NFS access is not supported. Direct printer connections (non-Samba, using “Standard” or “HP” TCP/IP port JetDirect access) are not supported.

Finally, it is important that ECE users not operate their own wireless access points on ECE subnets; we will be checking for these and asking that they be removed. (If you need to operate any WLAN devices as the subject of lab research, they must be on a Tier 3 connection or stand-alone LAN; please consult with us about this so we can manage interference, and keep us informed of the location and type of APs.)