What is Purdue Air Link?

Purdue's wireless network on the West Lafayette campus, Purdue Air Link (PAL), connects wireless-ready laptops, PDAs, and phones to the Purdue network and, through it, to the Internet. PAL is accessible from most areas of the campus, including academic buildings and the common areas of most residence halls.

There are currently two versions of PAL available for use: PAL2.0 and PAL3.0. The older version, PAL2.0, has been in service since 2005 and is available throughout campus. The newest version, PAL3.0, is being deployed in phases but will be campus-wide when all phases are completed. In addition to providing better coverage, PAL3.0 also supports the latest wireless networking standards to provide the fastest and most secure connection available. All connections to PAL are authenticated and encrypted in order to help protect your data. A list of buildings where PAL3.0 is available can be found here. A map with the projected schedule for PAL3.0 deployment is also available.

A tool is available to get you connected to PAL 2.0 and PAL3.0 as quickly as possible. To access it, connect your wireless device to either the PAL2.0-Instructions or “PAL Setup” wireless network, open a web browser, and access your home page. Click the XpressConnect link to get started.

If you want to configure your device manually you can find instructions for PAL2.0 in this GoldAnswers article and for PAL3.0 in this article.

If you have guests visiting the University that need wireless network access, you may request an account for them by using the Guest Account form. Instructions for your guests may be found in GoldAnswers.