Wireless Connectivity for the West Lafayette Campus of Purdue University

Purdue's central computing and telecommunications organization, ITaP, has implemented a plan to make wireless network access broadly available on the West Lafayette campus.

Benefits of Wireless Access to the Purdue Community
Wireless access is convenient, promotes efficient use of time and resources, and can increase real-time communication between a professor and the students in a class. For example, laptops can be distributed to an entire class or made available to students in common spaces such as in the Purdue Memorial Union, thus converting any area equipped with wireless access into a computer laboratory where individuals can access educational materials from a remote server. Students can use Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's) to take quizzes that are monitored by the professor in real time, thus helping to determine immediately what concepts need clarification. With wireless access, a faculty member can use a laptop to continue work on a project between meetings without returning to the office. Students meeting to coordinate a group presentation can use their laptops to work simultaneously on their assigned sections. Through a procedure called polling, PDA's can even give students the opportunity to provide real-time feedback during lectures.

Implementing the Plan
Some departments and schools have already installed wireless access for the benefit of their own faculty, staff, and students. The Purdue Air Link (PAL) expands these capabilities to permit all Purdue faculty, staff, and students to access all Web-based resources, including course material, throughout the campus without hard-wired connections. During Phase I, access points were installed in high-traffic student areas, such as central locations in residence halls, main libraries, and public buildings, including the Purdue Memorial Union. During Phase II, additional access points were added, expanding wireless into classrooms, public buildings, and desired administrative areas throughout the campus. Specific buildings covered by this project are listed on the ITaP web site at http://www.itap.purdue.edu/airlink/info/plan.cfm

How Wireless Access Works
Wireless access points emanate radio signals in a similar manner to garage door openers and non-cellular cordless phones. The signals are strong enough to be received up to 50 to 100 feet from each access point (and possibly further, if the access point is equipped with an external antenna). These signals can be received by laptops and PDA's that are equipped with a standard 802.11b wireless card. This feature can be requested when ordering a new laptop computer, or an 802.11b card can be purchased and added to most older laptops.

Security for Wireless Access
Authentication will be required to access the wireless system. Users will enter their Purdue Career Account login and password in order to establish a secure network connection via a VPN (Virtual Private Network) server. Once validated against Purdue's student/employee database, users will have access to the campus backbone and Internet. Guest access can be arranged for visitors.