UW Wireless
Gateway
This information is no longer valid as of
August 22, 2007.
The University of Wyoming deployed wireless gateway technology, purchased from Roving
Planet, Inc.© in January of 2004. The primary purpose of this wireless gateway is to
authenticate users onto the wireless network and provide security controls. All users are
required to authenticate on the wireless network in one of the following ways:
- PEAP (Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol)
In the first quarter of 2005 IT implemented another option for
gaining access to the wireless network that is widely useable by the campus community.
With the standardized protocol PEAP
(Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol) users obtain an
encrypted connection to the wireless network that can be made
available at boot time to help network sensitive programs such as
antivirus software. Microsoft provides a native supplicant in Windows XP that
makes connecting to the wireless network with PEAP simple and
reliable. If you are not running Windows XP please consult your
product vendor’s documentation for how to install a PEAP supplicant.
PEAP is available anywhere on the UW wireless network that you see
the network name “uwpeap”. Your computer must be properly configured
in order to use this network. See
How to Use PEAP Authentication on the UW
Wireless Network (www.uwyo.edu/ASKIT/displaydoc.asp?askitdocid=150&parentid=1)
for specific instructions.
- LEAP ((Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol)
Another option is solely for UW users who own Cisco wireless client adapters.
See
How to Configure a
Cisco Aironet Wireless Card to Use LEAP to Connect to the UW
Wireless Network (www.uwyo.edu/AskIT/displaydoc.asp?askitdocid=148&parentid=1)
for specific instructions. Anyone
who owns one of these adapters will be able to use LEAP (Lightweight Extensible
Authentication Protocol) to access the wireless network. By using this method these users
will not be redirected to the wireless gateway for authentication. This is a
preferred method for connecting to the wireless network as the connection is encrypted to
protect the user's data.
- VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Another method for accessing the wireless data network is the use of the VPN
concentrator that was purchased specifically for the wireless network. To use this option
users must have the VPN client installed, which can be obtained from the
VPN at UW Web site (www.uwyo.edu/vpn). If you already have the UW VPN client
installed you will need to obtain the profile (UW-Wireless-Network) that will enable the VPN
client to access the wireless network. Please visit
How to Install the UW Unix VPN Client (www.uwyo.edu/AskIT/displaydoc.asp?askitdocid=144&parentid=1)
to
obtain this profile. The use of VPN over the wireless network is highly recommended for all users who do not have
Cisco client adapters or not using PEAP. The encryption that is provided will help to ensure that your data
is protected. All faculty and staff that access student data or
any other sensitive data via the wireless network should always use the VPN client
or other IT-provided data encryption options.
- UW Wireless Gateway
Most wireless users will be able to access the wireless network
by simply associating to one of
the many wireless access points across campus. These users will need to open a
Web browser
so they can be redirected to the wireless gateway for authentication. After they have
entered their username and password they will gain access to the network.
See
How to
Use the UW Wireless Gateway to Connect to the UW Wireless Network (www.uwyo.edu/AskIT/displaydoc.asp?askitdocid=147&parentid=1)
for specific instructions. This method provides the lowest level of
data security.
Users need to be aware that if they use either LEAP or VPN that they will not be
redirected to the wireless gateway for authentication.
