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Frequently Asked Questions
What is SpartanLink?
SpartanLink is the NSU campus network created
for student access. It allows access to the Internet for web browsing. It
consists of two parts, traditional wired connections and wireless access.
SpartanLink-WiFi is the wireless portion. It allows students to use a
laptop with a wireless network card to connect to the NSUWIRELESS network.
What is a wireless network?
A wireless network is collection of
wireless access points (WAP’s) configured similarly and connected to a
traditional wired network. These WAP’s or AP’s then provide access to
network resources from wireless capable devices such as laptops. The most
common application used is a web browser to connect to the Internet.
Wireless networking allows you to
use a wireless network adapter in your laptop to access the NSU student
network and the Internet without physically connecting to an Ethernet
jack.
Wireless networking is the use of radio
frequency signals to connect portable workstations - such as laptops or
wireless enabled handheld devices - to a wireless network. The concept is very similar to the
way that a cordless phone works.
Where can I use the wireless network?
The latest coverage map can be found at
(http://www.nsu.edu/WIFI/WirelessCoverageNSUCampus.htm ).
What's the range of the signal?
The 802.11b and 802.11g wireless
network protocols have a range of about 300 feet in a large open space,
such as an auditorium, and about 100 feet in a typical indoor office
environment. Transmission speeds decrease as the number of users and the
distance between the laptop and the access point increases.
How fast is the network?
The speed of the 802.11b wireless
network is 11 MB shared. The speed of the 802.11g wireless network is 54
MB shared. As the number of users on a given access point increases the
available bandwidth (aka speed) will be reduced proportionally during
that connection period. In other words, the more users on a given access
point, the slower the network.
Is my wireless network connection secure?
NSUWIRELESS employs WPA2 Enterprise
with AES encryption on all connections. These protocols ensure only
authorized users are allowed to use the network, and, their traffic is
unable to be read.
Will Outlook / Outlook Express work with the wireless
network?
No. You will not be able to send or
receive email via Outlook / Outlook Express. You can access your NSU
email through your web browser
here
(http://www.nsu.edu/webmail).
What is the difference between NSUWIRELESS and NSUGUEST?
A lot, but to simplify, NSUWIRELESS is setup to protect your data and the computers used to manage it. It use encryption to hide your traffic from anyone else. Besides the Internet, you have access to other services like Instant Messaging and Voice over IP. NSUWIRELESS provides higher speeds to make your Facebooking, video streaming, and music listening more enjoyable. As an NSU customer, NSUWIRELESS was setup for you.
NSUGUEST is designed for use by visitors and guests. It is very restricted. While basic Internet browsing is available, other services such as Instant Messaging, VoIP and some mail clients may not work. The network is bandwidth restricted; therefore, you may find that watching videos and listening to music may be choppy and unreliable.
Will my wireless enabled handheld device or game console work with SpartanLink-WiFi?
Because NSU employs security protocols
on NSUWIRELESS, many wireless enabled handheld device’s and game consoles will not work on
SpartanLink-WiFi. Check with your wireless enabled handheld device’s manufacturer for more details on
WPA2 Enterprise support.
Can I use the wireless card with my home wireless
network or lab wireless network?
You will be able to set up several
configurations to use other networks if you would like. Whether or not it
will work depends on the requirements of the individual network and the
type of security on them.
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