We have three main wireless networks on campus — GrinnellCollegeStudent, GrinnellCollegeWireless, and GrinnellCollegeGuest. We suggest that students connect to GrinnellCollegeStudent and faculty and staff connect to GrinnellCollegeWireless. Doing so increases the level of wireless security and gives you access to more features than on the GrinnellCollegeGuest network.
In August 2009, we were forced to split GrinnellCollegeWireless into two networks — GrinnellCollegeWireless and GrinnellCollegeStudent — due to upgrades to the Clean Access server. Therefore, all students should now connect to GrinnellCollegeStudent, as it will no longer be possible to successfully connect to GrinnellCollegeWireless.
The opposite is true for faculty and staff — you will not be able to successfully connect to GrinnellCollegeStudent; you should keep connecting to GrinnellCollegeWireless.
All traffic you send over the Internet while connected to GrinnellCollegeStudent or GrinnellCollegeWireless is encrypted, adding a certain level of wireless security. Moreover, while on GrinnellCollegeStudent and GrinnellCollegeWireless, you’re able to access services like network printing and network storage; on GrinnellCollegeGuest, such services are unavailable.
We have instructions on connecting to GrinnellCollegeStudent and GrinnellCollegeWireless for a number of operating systems and devices:
| GrinnellCollegeStudent | GrinnellCollegeWireless |
| Windows XP | Windows XP |
| Windows Vista | Windows Vista |
| Mac OS X | Mac OS X |
| Linux | Linux |
| iPhone/iPod Touch | iPhone/iPod Touch |
N.B. While all new laptops and wireless cards have support connections to secure wireless networks, some older models may still have trouble. If you’re not able to connect to GrinnellCollegeStudent or GrinnellCollegeWireless, please call the Helpdesk at x4400 or stop by and we can take a look.
Below, you can find technical details on both wireless networks:
| Feature | GrinnellCollegeWireless and GrinnellCollegeStudent | GrinnellCollegeGuest |
| Security | Fully protected with WPA-TKIP or WPA2-AES encryption | Not protected |
| Compatibility | Requires wireless card with WPA-TKIP support or better | Usable by just about any WiFi card |
| Connectivity | Packet sniffing to block bittorrent only | Only ports 80, 443, 22, 587, 993, 995, 1723, and 500 are allowed (respective protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, Secure SMTP, Secure IMAP, POP3, PPTP, and ISAKMP) |
| Ease of Use | Requires minor initial setup for some operating systems | No extra setup required |
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact the Helpdesk by e-mail or at 641–269–4400.
See something that you think should be added to the wiki? Is anything out of date? Send us an e-mail and let us know!
Disclaimer
All content on these pages is provided for reference without a warranty of any kind. Neither Grinnell College nor the Technology Consultants are responsible for any problems or damage encountered when following the advice on these pages. We try to provide the soundest, most reasonable advice we can, and we are fully confident in it, but you can’t sue us.