CONFIGURING REMOTE ACCESS FOR IMAC AT ISU

published by Information Technologie Services

Handout HNG 331

June 2006

Overview

With the increasing popularity of handheld devices and the increased coverage of wireless network access, it has become very simple to connect in any environment. This document primarily covers PDAs (personal digital assistants) that have the PocketPC operating system, but there are some general guidelines here that should be helpful for any device with a wireless network adapter.

For a list of rooms with access points and a map of coverage please refer to Information Technology Services webpage at: http://www.it.iastate.edu/wireless/wireless.html

1 Registering the Wireless Adapter

As with any network adapter, it must be registered via NetReg before it can be used on campus. While on campus, simply bring up a web browser on the device and you should see the NetReg page. Because there are some issues with NetReg and PDAs that are not yet resolved, you may not see the NetReg page appear. In that case, go to http://netreg.iastate.edu/ to start the registration process. If, after completing the registration, you are unable to connect to the Internet, please do one of the following:

Bring the PDA and wireless adapter to 195 Durham Center so that we may review the settings and register the adapter manually.
Send email to . The email must contain your Iowa State Net-ID and the hardware (MAC) address of the wireless adapter. If you cannot find the adapter's hardware address, bring the PDA and wireless adapter to 195 Durham Center for assistance.

2 Installing the Wireless Adapter

Before you install the wireless adapter, you must install the synchronizing program that came with your PDA (e.g., Microsoft ActiveSync) and have the cable or cradle that connects the PDA to your local computer available.

Insert the wireless adapter into the PDA.
If the adapter is recognized by the PDA, skip to the next section, “Configuring the Wireless Settings.” If you see a message saying you have an unrecognized card, remove the wireless adapter and connect your PDA to your computer using the cable or cradle provided with your PDA.
Insert the driver disk that came with your wireless adapter into your computer.
After inserting the disk, there should be a driver setup that must be run. A helper application may run automatically if the drivers are on a CD. If there is no helper application, you may have to consult the wireless adapter's documentation to find the location of the driver setup program.
Follow the prompts on your computer and your PDA. If you are prompted for something and are not quite sure how to answer, the defaults should be sufficient.
After the installation completes, you should be prompted to insert the wireless adapter.

3 Configuring the Wireless Settings

Many different wireless client managers are available. Following, we have provided some general settings in addition to step-by-step procedures for some popular client managers.

General Settings

Network name (SSID): IASTATE (must be all capital letters)
Network type: Access Point or Infrastructure
Encryption/WEP/Security: None/Disabled

Dell TrueMobile WLAN Client

Click the wireless status indicator in the lower right corner.
Select Tools -> Edit Wireless Profiles…
Click Add.
Enter IASTATE as the profile name. Make sure the Network Type is set to Access Point. Click Next.
Enter IASTATE as the network name. You can also click the Scan button and select IASTATE from the box that appears. Click Next.
Make sure the box next to Enable Data Security is unchecked. Click Next.
Turn off Card Power Management. Click Finish.
Click OK in the upper right corner to exit the Wireless Profile editor.
Click the X in the upper right corner to exit the Client Manager.

Compaq/HP iPaq WLAN Client

Click the wireless status indicator in the lower right corner and select Setup.
Click New.
Enter IASTATE as the profile name.
Enter IASTATE as the SSID.
Set Power Management to No.
Make sure Network is set to Infrastructure.
Make sure Channel and Transmit Rate are set to Auto. Click Next.
Make sure Use server-assigned IP address is selected. Click Next.
Make sure Wireless Encryption (WEP) is disabled. Click Finish.
Click OK in the upper right corner to exit the Client Manager.

Configuring a PDA for Wireless Network Access was written by Mike Broders and updated by ITS staff.

For more assistance, contact the Solution Center by phone at 515.294.4000, on the web at http://www.it.iastate.edu/help/, by email at , or in person at 195 Durham Center.