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express registration

Visitor Access to UCInet

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UCInet Mobile Access

1-Day Access

Visitors to the campus who need temporary access to the internet with a laptop or mobile device may make use of Express Registration for the UCInet Mobile Access network.  In order to do this, the visitor should go to a wireless access location, open a web browser, and connect to any web page.  (See list of wireless locations). This will direct the visitor to our registration process.  Access is granted for 24 hours, and this access will only be granted seven times in a 30-day period. Visitor access is restricted to Web, email, and secure shell (SSH).

4-Week Access

There is a second option for visitors who need access to UCInet beyond the restrictions of Express Registration.  Manual Registration is a process by which UCI faculty, staff, or graduate students can authorize access for a visitor.  The authorizer will need to use his or her own UCINetID and password, and will need the MAC address (the unique address of the network card) of the visitor’s laptop or other mobile device.  More information on these two options can be found at the UCInet Mobile Access Registration page.

Longer-Term Access

Another option is available for guests whose visit to UCI will be longer than a month.  (Examples include visiting scholars, volunteer faculty/staff, or those who may be employees of a different UC campus but are teaching here.)  In these cases a faculty or management-level staff member may request a Sponsored UCInetID for the visitor.  This is essentially a normal UCInetID, but it is only valid for as long as the sponsor authorizes it — typically one to four quarters.  Note that the Sponsored UCInetID request form is now online and requires the sponsor to log in with his or her own UCInetID and password.

Eduroam

Visitors from participating educational institutions may choose to gain access to UCInet using their home-campus network identities via the Eduroam secure federated network access service.  For eligible visitors, this option may be a better choice given the requirements and restrictions of the alternatives listed above.

Wireless Network Update

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UCInet Mobile Access

UCInet Mobile Access

NACS has recently completed an upgrade to UCI’s wireless network.

We have now retired all the old Lucent 802.11b wireless access points (APs).  These APs were about 9 years old and were only able to support the original wireless networking (“wi-fi”) standard, with comparatively low speeds.  Each of them has been replaced with a new Cisco 802.11a/b/g access point, meaning it can support three current wi-fi standards, and you can now connect at the fastest transfer speed of which your mobile device is capable.

In addition to faster speeds, the new APs support the Cisco Wireless Internet Service Module (WISM) standard, with all its advantages.  Not only are these APs dynamically configured from a central control system, allowing maximum signal strength and throughput as demand shifts, they allow “seamless roaming” so that you can move within the range of all the Cisco APs without dropping your connection.

A final advantage to the Cisco APs is that they all support Express Registration, which means you don’t have to pre-authorize your mobile device, nor do you have to arrange in advance for access for your guests.  Originally limited to a few sites on campus, Express Registration is now widely available.  A list of locations where Express Registration is available, along with additional information about the service, is maintained online.  NACS expects to add more Cisco WISM APs over time, subject to available funding.