ResNet got a face lift this summer. Over the summer, Millikin’s IT Department did a major overhaul hoping to better the Millikin internet experience. Many Millikin students can attest to the trials involved with on-campus internet such as its slowness, the dead zones on campus and the struggle of getting connected in the first place.

This past summer the IT Department has made great strides in providing better internet to the faculty and students of Millikin. One of the strides made by the IT Department this summer was the installation of at least 180 wireless access points. Brett Boyer of the IT Department said, “We’ve got 180 new wireless access points around campus, and we updated the core so the speed of the internet would increase.” In addition to the addition of access points, IT has also rewired all residence halls in order to provide better internet access for students in their rooms, meaning every residence hall on campus should now have access to an internet connection.
Despite the improvements in internet access, the Old Gymnasium and Aston Hall are still without internet capabilities, which has been causing issues for the theatre classes which take place in both buildings.

New this year, the IT program has taken away guest access, popularly known as MU-GUEST. For freshmen and first year Millikin students, guest internet was an internet connection offered in the past that didn’t require any sort of credentials and was available to anyone close enough to campus to pick up the signal. When asked about why the guest connection was taken away, Boyer said, “it was mostly a security precaution, and it was deleted to to make sure only Millikin students had access to the internet connection.” By making the switch to solely ResNet, Millikin has guaranteed only students with valid credentials are able to access and gain the benefits of the wireless connection here at Millikin. However, the deletion of this the guest account was the cause for some unrest at the beginning of this semester. Returning students who had used the guest account previously were shocked to see it no longer being offered. Some Millikin students were unable to properly set up ResNet on their computers and therefore had been using the
guest account for purposes of convenience.

However, the IT department has provided very clear instructions on setting up ResNet on both PCs and Macs. These detailed instructions on setting up ResNet can be found at http://www.millikin.edu/IT/STUDENTSNEW/NETWORK/Pages/default.aspx.

The instructions also give you several examples of problems you might encounter and how to fix them during the installation of ResNet. If you still find you’re running into problems, IT will gladly get you and your laptop connected to ResNet if you visit their office in Shilling 106.

In order to provide better connections and quicker internet speeds, IT and ResLife are reminding students wireless routers are not permitted in the residence halls. A recent email sent out students reported there were routers detected during a walkthrough of the halls. The email also stated students had until the Oct. 9 to unplug these wireless routers. If the routers are not removed by the Oct. 9 they will be removed from the room by the university staff. A router in a building only bogs down the internet and causes it to run slower for the whole building. If you have questions about ResNet or are struggling to get connected, the IT department is more than
glad to assist Millikin students and ensure they are getting all they can out of the internet provided on campus.