Wireless Computing at RIT
Wireless networking allows us to offer network service in locations that are not feasible or convenient to wire. Examples are large open spaces such as student work areas, lecture halls and outdoor areas.
Wireless should not be considered a replacement for wired network connections. We expect that wired connections will continue to offer speeds that are one to two orders of magnitude faster than wireless connections. That speed advantage of wired networks can be critical to some applications.
Connect to the RIT wireless network
We have more information (see sidebar) on wireless locations, connection instructions, FAQ's, and toubleshooting connection problems.
Wireless security
RIT's Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) wireless network requires that you authenticate, or log in, to connect; it is not an open network. It provides a level of additional security through encryption - especially to allow you to safely login with your RIT computer account username and password - of your wireless network transmissions.
However, the encryption for subsequent network traffic should not be considered the primary feature of the WPA network. The primary feature of WPA is to prevent unauthorized use of RIT resources, through authentication, so that the people who need to use the network do so with a high quality of service and safety. You should still be cautious about transmitting personally-identifiable or RIT confidential information to Web sites and other systems that do not offer their own encryption, such as afforded by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) or other means. Both SSL and TLS, for example, are traditionally indicated as a lock icon in a Web browser window. If you currently use VPN to access campus resources when on the wireless network, please continue to do so with WPA.
As of this writing, the RIT WPA network carries a different network name (also known as the network's SSID) - "ritwpa" instead of "rit" - to distinguish it from the unencrypted RIT wireless network.The “ritwpa” SSID is not broadcast, so your computer will not automatically detect it. It will need to be set-up on your computer manually.
ITS strongly recommends that you configure your computer to connect to the “ritwpa” network.