Overview

Wireless boxes are devices that convert a wireless signal into a physical Ethernet cable. They are used in several off-campus houses that have not been renovated to provide a direct Ethernet connection into the rooms. This allows a single wireless access point (AP) to be installed in the house, providing a wireless Internet connection similar to those provided at /wiki/spaces/TAR/pages/26452092 on campus. Students with wireless-capable computers can tap in directly to the connection, while those who have only a physical Ethernet port can use a wireless box to get a connection.

Wireless boxes are provided free of charge to residents of rooms in wireless-only houses. Each wireless box has a sticker on it identifying the room to which it belongs. Theft of wireless boxes has been a problem in the past, resulting in the occasional shortage of wireless boxes. If a room requires a new wireless box, contact the ITS Helpdesk. It may take some time to acquire a replacement wireless box, though you should be updated if this is the case. Feel free to contact the ITS Helpdesk again for an update at any time.

How Are These Houses Connected?

A physical, fiber-optic cable runs from the Carleton network to the basement of each house as normal. In the affected houses, however, there is no internal ethernet cabling so there are no wired ports on the walls. Time, budget and significant inconvenience (due to the necessary construction work) are all factors in this situation.
Instead of physical cabling, the fiber-optic cable connects to a wireless access point (AP) in the basement which pumps out a signal specific to that house. Each room in the house is then equipped with a wireless box - normally mounted to the wall or the side of a desk - which connects the room to the wireless AP in the basement.

_The campus network connects to a wireless AP in the basement of the house.
This AP sends out a wireless signal which connects the wireless boxes in each room._

These boxes have built in ethernet ports to which students connect their personal machines using a normal network cable, just like a normal wall port. In this way, the wireless box acts as a wireless bridge of sorts and the student does not need to have a wireless card of their own.

Wireless Box Basics

Below is a picture of one of these wireless boxes. Students should ever have to pull these apart even for troubleshooting - we leave that to the network admin - but it's worth knowing what should be in there.

The box contains some circuitry which is used to configure it to connect to a specific house's network ID (SSID). The wireless card is a PC(MCIA) card, much the same as you might buy for a laptop. Only certain models of PC card are compatible with these boxes, so these cards should never be removed and/or replaced by anyone other than the network admins.

The box uses a power adapter which connects to the top of the box as pictured above. Power cycling the box (disconnecting then reconnecting the power) should be the first step in troubleshooting any problems with these boxes.

Students connect their computers to the box using a normal ethernet cable, which connects right next to the power supply, at the top of the box as pictured above.

Issues

Wireless boxes must be plugged in via an AC adapter in order to work properly. If no lights come on, then there is a problem with the AC adapter. Call the /wiki/spaces/TAR/pages/26468299 to ask for a replacement.

The Wireless Signal light should go on soon after the wireless box is plugged in, if it is within range of a wireless AP. If it does not come on with a solid or blinking green light, then the house's wireless AP may be suffering from problems, or you may be outside of its range. The transmission power of wireless APs is adjusted periodically, and this may be the source of your problem if others in the house are able to receive a signal and you are not. If you think there may be a problem with the AP, tell that to the /wiki/spaces/TAR/pages/26468299. Be sure to tell them whether others in the house are having similar connection problems.

Troubleshooting Steps

All the basic connectivity troubleshooting steps that apply to ethernet ports also apply to wireless boxes e.g. check for IP address, reboot the machine, check/swap the cables, etc. However, there are some additional things you can check when working with these little monsters.

First step, always, is to power cycle the box.
Have the user unplug the power, wait 10 seconds, then reconnect it.
Ask the user what lights are on on the box and what color they are (see picture above).
Ask if the computer and wireless box are actually connected using an ethernet cable.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that they don't need a cable to connect to the box - it is a "wireless" box after all.
Have the user slide the box off the wall / desk and turn it over to see if there is a card inside it. The grey, plastic end of the wireless card is visible from the back. If the user sees all white then the card is AWOL.
If the box seems to have problems, is without power, is without card, etc. then the user should bring the box in to the /wiki/spaces/TAR/pages/26468299. Kevin will then take the box to the network admins for repair. This can take several days as we are currently very low on spare parts for these boxes.

Locations

Wireless boxes are used in the following houses:

Benton House (Sci-Fi House)
Berg House
Douglas House
Farm & Parr House
Hall House
Rice House
Seccombe House
Watson House
Williams House

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