Wireless use at BMB Library

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Introduction

See also EZproxy troubleshooting for BMB Library staff | Wireless

ubcsecure testing at BMB Library

• ubcsecure was tested at BMB with a laptop using Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit (new install, pre-SP1)
• ubcsecure at BMB and on-campus do not seem to be identical networks (different security requirements)
• when connecting to one ubcsecure and then the other, students get nowhere and end up with error messages
• Problems: when the computer connects to a network for the first time, it likes to create a profile that contains the exact information of the network; since the two networks are different, Windows will refuse to connect to the foreign ubcsecure
• computers that are set up to remember one will not easily connect to the other
• for example, if I save a profile for ubcsecure here at BMB, my laptop probably won't connect to the ubcsecure on campus
• the only solution so far is for a patron to delete their computer's ubcsecure profile when they move to/from BMB and remake it for their new location every time
• A workaround is to connect to the unsecured network we have in the library. There is an unsecured unnamed network in the library; when patrons connect to this network, and try to open a webpage for the first time that day they will be prompted for their CWL (its the redirect to the log-in page with the UBC IT frog). Again, note that this network is unsecured and some patrons may not want to use their computers on it.
• Recommendation: anyone having trouble connecting to ubcsecure at BMB or on-campus -- the two networks are incompatible and an alternative is to connect to the unnamed network

ubcsecure testing on UBC Point Grey campus

• wireless ubcsecure was tested at the UBC campus with a laptop using Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit (new install, pre-SP1)
• the computer had previously saved a profile for ubcsecure at BMB
• the computer connected to ubcsecure at UBC automatically, without asking for a CWL
• Current conclusion: using ubcsecure at BMB then at UBC elicits no problem at UBC on Windows Vista pre-SP1

ubcsecure testing at BMB (reciprocal test)

• wireless ubcsecure was tested at BMB with a laptop using Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit (new install, pre-SP1)
• the computer had previously saved a profile for ubcsecure at UBC
• the computer reports that "[the] wireless security settings do not match the settings on 'ubcsecure'"
• Current conclusion: using ubcsecure at UBC then BMB is problematic
• Workaround: using the instructions on the UBC IT webpage designed for Windows XP, a connection was established when the security was set to WPA-Enterprise (instead of WPA2-Enterprise, with TKIP data encryption (instead of AES). The menus are nearly identical between XP and Vista so they are very easy to follow
• I tried clearing my log-in prior to finding this solution, so I can't verify if a CWL needed to be reinserted after the change (this is a very minor issue so I won't test it)
• this is not a recommended solution yet since the effects of using WPA instead of WPA2 are unknown
• miscellaneous notes: Vista defaults to WPA2-Enterprise and AES when auto-connecting at UBC, which implies that those are the native settings
• oddly, Speedtest.net and Pingtest.net report BMB's network's location as Nova Scotia

ubcsecure testing on UBC Point Grey campus, test 2

• wireless ubcsecure was tested at BMB with a laptop using Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit (new install, pre-SP1)
• the computer had previously saved a profile for ubcsecure at BMB, using manually-input security settings (WPA-Enterprise, TKIP)
• the computer briefly reports that it cannot connect to ubcsecure, but then prompted me to set up a profile for a "ubcsecure 2" network. I checked the wireless network setup window, which reports that I am connected to ubcsecure (automatically)
• implications are that while the networks at UBC Point Grey and BMB are still different, connecting via WPA-Enterprise and TKIP at one location can enable a computer to connect to the other location, regardless
• Current conclusion: manually-input security settings to connect to ubcsecure at BMB allows for connection at UBC Point Grey

ubcsecure testing at BMB, test 2 (reciprocal test)

• wireless ubcsecure was tested at BMB with a laptop using Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit (new install, pre-SP1)
• the computer had previously saved a profile for ubcsecure at BMB, using manually-input security settings (WPA-Enterprise, TKIP)
• the computer briefly reports that it cannot connect to ubcsecure, but briefly afterwards I am connected (automatically)
• implications are that while the networks at UBC Point Grey and BMB are still different, connecting via WPA-Enterprise and TKIP at one location can enable a computer to connect to the other location, regardless
• Current conclusion: manually-input security settings to connect to ubcsecure at BMB allows for connection at UBC Point Grey
• New theory: Vista is able to detect that the manually-input settings are incorrect and automatically adjusts them to work correctly on the second network

Further planned tests

• taking the laptop back to UBC after it's been given manually-input settings at UBC (i.e. my first test location), which have been tested at BMB (i.e. my second) (will determine whether Vista will play nice with a laptop being brought back and forth between UBC and BMB)
• Vista 32-bit SP2 (assumption will be that this approximates all versions of Vista) with the above procedures
• Ubuntu 10.04 32-bit with the above procedures (assumption will be that this will approximate most modern distributions of Linux)
• Windows XP, Windows 7, and Mac OS X tests cannot be held at this time

References

• http://www.it.ubc.ca/internet/wireless/wpa/wirelesswpawinxp.html