Today marks the beginning of phase 1 of Ball State's transition to a more secure wireless infrastructure.
In phase 1, like the system set-up last semester, students will need to use their Ball State username and password to log in to the network via their internet browser.
All campus visitors will be able to access Ball State's wireless network to surf the Internet and check their e-mail using the bsuguest network option, but will not be able to access Ball State systems using this network.
In phase 2, a new network option, bsuguest, will allow students and faculty to access the internet through their operating system. Each user will have their own encryption key and will automatically establish a secure and encrypted connection to the wireless network. This system should be finalized by the beginning of fall semester, Alex Chalmers, lead enterprise systems and security architect, said.
"We have a majority of the planning done," Chalmers said. "But we are still moving forward."
The new platform provides a basis to build a wireless infrastructure that is up to the 802.1x standard, Chalmers said.
802.1x is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association standard that utilizes framework models which simplify authentication systems.
"The previous software was more proprietary," Chalmers said. "It didn't allow us to do some of the things we wanted to."
The phase changes allow the university to install and deploy, among several other softwares, Network Access Protection, a feature of the Windows Server 2008 operating system, Loren Malm, assistant director information security and server support, said. NAP provides components and an application programming interface that helps administrators assess, monitor and enforce compliance with health-requirement policies for network access and communication.
When phase 2 comes closer to being ready for implementation, users will be notified about the differences in user experience, Chalmers said.
"Users will see some minor changes," Chalmers said.
BSU wireless system changes
Phase 1
- Users will continue to use the bsu wireless network option. Beginning Monday, you will need to use your Ball State username and password to log in to this network.
- All campus visitors will use the bsuguest network option to access Ball State's wireless network but cannot access Ball State systems using this network.
- Users will be given an encryption key to access a new network, bsusecure.
- The bsusecure network option will automatically establish a secure and encrypted connection to the wireless network, eliminating the need to use the VPN Client to fortify a secure connection to the network.
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