Setting up your Wireless Router for UD's Network

Many students bring wireless routers to campus for use with our campus network. Because wireless routers present possible security concerns, the Office of Information Technologies (IT) wants to ensure these routers are configured properly when they are used on UD's network. Wireless routers that are configured securely will help to keep our network secure and prevent students from losing network access.

Most new wireless routers come with a CD that leads the user through the steps to set up the router securely. Or the router may come with a printed instruction manua for doing sol. If your router didn't come with an instruction manual, one may be included on the CD. If you don’t have any of these materials, you can usually find directions on the manufacturer’s Web site—several of which are listed below. Most manufacturers have a support link off their home page that allows you to search for information associated with their products.

If you cannot find instructions to set up your wireless router, contact the IT Help Center. They will have a consultant contact you for assistance.

Setting up your Wireless Router for UD's Network

The following instructions are meant only to be used as a guide in the event you do not have a CD or an instruction manual that came with your router. Instructions will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and from model to model. The example graphics included on this page are taken from a Linksys WRT54G wireless router and are for reference only. The dialog boxes that you see as you work through setting up your router may look slightly different, but they should have the same function. Regardless of the router you use, in general, you usually need to complete the following four steps to securely set up a router:

Configure the router to use secure encryption,
Connect the cables properly,
Make a secure wireless connection to your router, and
Register the router on our network.

Most wireless routers have network ports on the rear of the unit that look similar to the following:

As shown in the graphic above, only one port (usually separate from any other ports) should be plugged into your residence hall room’s Ethernet wall jack. The other ports are used to connect your computer or other network-enabled devices to the Internet.

IMPORTANT NOTE
If you ever connect the cable of a network-enabled device to your room’s Ethernet wall jack, your Internet connection will be almost immediately suspended because doing so causes interference with our network’s operation.

Configuring the router to use secure encryption

Because wireless networks broadcast information sent between the router and your computer, anyone can monitor this information. To prevent unauthorized interception of the information, you should make sure the information is encrypted. Encrypting the information prevents others from intercepting it and using it to access your private information or possibly committing identity theft. To begin this process, follow these steps:

Connect one of the device ports on your router to your computer’s Ethernet port using an Ethernet cable.
Open a Web browse.
Type your router’s IP address in the brower's address bar. (The IP address can be found in the device's documentation.)
Press ENTER. You should be prompted to log in to the router using a username and password as shown in the following graphic. (The default username and password can be found in the device's documentation.)
Because the default username and password are widely published, you need to change this information as soon as you set up the router. The following graphics show an example of how to change these settings. (In this example located under Administration—Management).

After changing your username and password, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save changes. If you do not save the new settings, no changes will be made.
After you are logged in to your router, a tab or menu item will appear which should indicate a Wireless or Wireless Security section (sometimes Wireless Security will be in the Wireless section).
You will be given several options to use for encryption. Avoid using any WEP variants—they are not secure. Use WPA-Personal or WPA-PSK (pre-shared key) if those options are available.
After you select the encryption type, enter a passphrase of between 6–63 characters long (the longer, the more secure). This passphrase must be entered on any computer attempting to connect to your wireless router before it is authorized to connect.
The passphrase should be reasonably complex but easy enough for you to remember. In the example above, it’s a mix of the phrase “you’re not getting in” (urn0tg3ttinIN). Again, make sure to save any changes before navigating away from the page.
Another good idea is to change the name of your wireless router, so you can identify your router from the others within range of your computer. For privacy reasons, you may want to choose a name that does not link the router to you personally. This name setting is usually called the SSID or Wireless Network Name and is generally found in the Wireless settings area. In the following example, the Wireless Network Name (SSD) is left blank and is for demonstration purposes only.
Click Save Settings. Usually, your router will restart, and it will now identify itself with its new name.
Your router should now be ready to connect with your computer and our network.

Connecting the cables properly

Connect the Ethernet cable in the Internet port on the router to the Internet wall jack. Be absolutely sure NOT to connect any of the other (usually) four ports to the wall jack or your network connection may be cut off because of interference with our network (see device graphic shown above).
After you connect the cable, you may need to cycle the power to your router by disconnecting the power supply, waiting a few seconds, and then plugging it back in.

Making a secure wireless connection to your router

Now you must set up a wireless connection from the router to your computer. This process differs whether you are using Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X.

Windows XP

Click Start.
Click Control Panel.
Double-click Network Connections as shown in the following graphic:
In the Network Connections window, right-click the Wireless Network Connection icon and then click View Available Wireless Networks from the drop-down box as shown in the following graphic:
You should see a dialog box listing the wireless routers within range of your computer. The names of the networks you see will be different than those shown in the following graphic and will depend on those within range of your computer. In the following example, the network named UDel Secure is selected (highlighted by blue).
Click on the name of your router and then click Connect in the lower-right hand corner of the dialog box. You should see a dialog box that looks similar to the following and requests the Network key:
In the Network key text box, type the WPA passphrase you created when you configured your router. Type the passphrase in the second text box to confirm it.
Click Connect.

Windows Vista

Click Start.
Click Control Panel.
Click Classic View in the left-hand side of the Control Panel window if it is not already selected.
Double-click Network and Sharing Center.
Click Manage Wireless Networks in the left-hand side of the window. You should see a dialog box that looks similar to the following:
Click the Add button with the green plus sign (+) in front of it. A dialog box will appear asking how you want to add your wireless connection as shown in the following graphic:
Click the Add a network that is in range of this computer option because your router should be in range of your computer. A dialog box with a list of the available wireless networks should appear and look similar to the following:
Click the name of your router.
Click Connect in the lower-right hand corner of the dialog box. You will then see a dialog box that looks similar to the following and requests the Security key or passphrase you set previously.
Type the passphrase in the text field.
Click Connect in the lower-right hand corner of the dialog box. You should then see a dialog box requesting that you select a network location to be used for this connection.
Click either Home or Work (they are functionally identical). When the User Account Control appears, click Continue.
You should then see a dialog box indicating that you have successfully connected to your router, which should look similar to the following:
Make sure both boxes are checked so that your computer will automatically connect to your router when it is in range.
Click Close.

Mac OS X

To connect your Mac OS X computer to your router, follow these steps:

Click the AirPort icon in the upper-right hand corner of your desktop (highlighted in blue in the graphic below).
A list of available wireless routers should appear that looks similar to the following:
Click the name of your router.
You should see a Password dialog box that looks similar to the following:
If you don’t want to enter this password each time you connect, click the checkbox to insert a check mark in front of Remember this network.
Type the password in the Password text box.
Click OK.

Registering the router on our network

Now that you have connected your computer to the router, you need to register the router on our network to allow you to access the Internet. To do so, follow these steps:

Open a Web browser.
Type www.udel.edu/network in the address bar.
Log in with your UDelNet ID and password.
Click Register a computer for Internet access.You will see a Web page that looks similar to the following:
In the Description text box, type a word to remind yourself which device you are registering (e.g., Wireless router).
Click Register Roaming IP.
Wait approximately 5-10 minutes and then cycle the power on your wireless router (i.e., turn it off and then back on).
Wait several moments for your computer to reconnect to the router. You should now be able to connect to the Internet.

Last updated August 20, 2009