Cumberland University Wireless Access minimum requirements

1. Minimum Pentium-class desktop or laptop
2. 64 Mb of RAM or more
3. 802.11g or 802.11b Wireless Access Card (may be integrated into laptop)
   802.11g preferable - 802.11a will not work
4. Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP, Mac OS 9 or above, or Linux (current distribution)
5. Anti-Virus Software with active subscription

Students requesting access will need to have the Office of Information Technology program the access codes into their wireless card software.

Wireless Coverage Area

The entire Cumberland University main campus and the Rudy Nursing School campus are covered.

Tips

1. 802.11g wireless access cards transfer data at a maximum of 54 Mbps. 802.11b cards have a maximum speed of only 11 Mbps.
2. Name brand wireless access cards tend to experience less difficulty. Cisco, 3Com, Intel, or HP adapter recommended.
3. Microsoft Windows XP (Home or Pro edition) with the latest Service Packs or Mac OS X version 10.x work the best.
4. Faster processors and more RAM help speed up Internet and network activities.

Wireless Networking Standards

• 802.11a: Describes WLANs for the 5-GHz band, with a data rate of 54M bit/sec.
• 802.11b: WLANs in the 2.4-GHz band, 11M bit/sec data rate.
• 802.11d: Enables 802.11 hardware to work in various countries where it can't today.
• 802.11e: Enhances the 802.11 Media Access Control layer for quality-of-service features, such as prioritizing voice or video traffic.
• 802.11f: Recommends practices for WLAN equipment makers so that all their 802.11 access points can interoperate.
• 802.11g: Also in the 2.4-GHz band, but uses 802.11a modulation to reach 54M bit/sec.
• 802.11h: Supports measuring and managing the 5-GHz radio signals in 802.11a WLANs.
• 802.11i: Repairs weaknesses in the Wired Equivalent Privacy encryption scheme.
• 802.11k: Creates a way for access points to pass specific radio frequency health and management data to higher-level management applications.
• 802.11n: Designed to boost throughput, not raw data rate, to 100M bit/sec. The idea is to make WLANs feel like 100M bit/sec switched Ethernet LANs.