Bringing a wireless router to Uni

Hey, I just got off the phone from my warden and they said that WiFi is only available in the common areas of my hall (Nutford, London), but in the rooms, they provide an ethernet cable which delivers a wired connection free of charge. I've got a MacBook Air which presents a problem as there's no ethernet port. Of course, I could buy an adapter but wires...meh. So, I was wondering, if I brought my old cable router from our Virgin Media days and just plugged the ethernet cable into the back of that, would that be a solution?

Thanks!

Bry

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Reply 1

spikeymike

That is a solution, if not the solution.

Reply 2

smile:D

Original post by uzumaki1107

Yep sure, you could also tether to you phone if it has that feature (assuming 3G coverage is good)

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 3

Snagprophet

We were told we weren't allowed to attach routers to the ethernet sockets in our rooms. This was at Cramborne house in Bournemouth. We also had software which allowed us to access the internet by using our uni login and were only allowed one computer registered at a time.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

mfaxford

Original post by uzumaki1107

You might want to check if it's allowed in your accommodation but assuming it's ok that's probably the way to do it.

If they provide more services other than just basic internet (things like IPTV) you might find those don't work with the router.

Reply 5

Zorg

You will probably need to activate the socket using your computer. They will then only allow this computer to access it from this port. Some routers can "pretend" to be the computer though and get access to the internet that way. You would still need a computer to activate it though. Check if the router is able to clone MAC addresses, this is the address used to identify a device on a network and all wired or wireless devices will have them.

Also you might want to make sure no one else can access your routers connection. Just read around on security.

Reply 6

MattyKins

I think what you are referring to here, or after rather, is a wireless bridge of some sort. All depends on the routers capabilities. As you won't be wanting the router to actually be routing. Just to act as a wireless bridge.

Reply 7

AnonymousPenguin

Original post by MattyKins

My understanding is that wireless bridge devices are used to connect two wired networks, i.e. you need two bridges so you can connect a router on one side and a laptop to the other bridge. AFAIK a wireless bridge device would not do what he wants.

What he needs is a router, but he could disable the DHCP server if he doesn't want the router to do NAT.

Just get a WRT54GL and flash it with Tomato - it's cheap, reliable and can spoof its MAC address.

Reply 8

MattyKins

Sorry, wireless bridge is a term that is flown around and used loosely. It can mean what you say, it's simply marketing. A lot of products are marketed "wireless bridge", and one of these types of device are really doing is taking the ethernet input and broadcasting it with it's own presence which you can connect to etc.

A router is not strictly necessary unless you're wanting to sort out your own LAN.

What I should of called it was Wireless Access Point as you don't really NEED to do any routing (unless you want your own LAN), you could turn off dhcp on the router, but that might not necessarily disable NAT. All depends on router..

Get a wireless access point.

Reply 9

mfaxford

Access Point or Router really depends on what the Uni allows and what needs to be done.

As always check the uni rules first, they might actually give advice on what to do for certain types of devices.

With an wireless access point the Uni will be able to see all the devices connected potentially including the AP.With a router they will only see the router. With an AP extra services should work, with a router they might not. And depending on what authentication they use for your devices different types of device may or may not work.

Reply 10

MattyKins

Original post by mfaxford

With a router they will only see the router.

But still all the traffic passed through it anyway.

Reply 11

mfaxford

Original post by MattyKins

But still all the traffic passed through it anyway.

The difference is at layer 2/layer3. With a WAP the network you connect to will see the addresses of all devices connected. With a router (assuming a home router doing NAT) the network you've connected to will only see the address on the router (The addresses of things connected to the router will be hidden).

This is an important difference and the best option depends on the Uni. Some places will only allow a single device to be connected and will enforce this via various methods. In those cases you'll have issues using a WAP as that will get the only available address and anything else connected won't get an address.

There are effectively two groups of devices: Bridges (which include Wireless Access Points, Hubs, Switches) which work at Layer 2 (Ethernet) - Connecting devices on the same subnet, and Routers which work at Layer 3 (IP) - Connecting two different subnets together (which may include NAT)

Reply 12

MattyKins

But my point still remains. I'm just pointing out they will see the traffic passed through. That's all. :smile:

I just thought it was a bit over-board of having your own LAN...really. Depends on your needs of devices I suppose.

Also, switches can be layer 3 also. (core switches etc.) :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 13

mfaxford

Original post by MattyKins

But my point still remains. I'm just pointing out they will see the traffic passed through. That's all. :smile:

I just thought it was a bit over-board of having your own LAN...really. Depends on your needs of devices I suppose.

Original post by MattyKins

Also, switches can be layer 3 also. (core switches etc.) :smile:

Technically if it's doing work at L3 then it's a router but I would agree that the big manufacturers do make that matter more confused when their devices can act as switches and/or routers depending on configuration and do their routing at full wire speed (when traditional routers were CPU based and slower)

Reply 14

MattyKins

Original post by mfaxford

That really depends on the Uni's restrictions. If you can only have one IP address then you you'll need a router. Of course they'll see all the traffic, I don't think I ever said they didn't and if they really cared they might be able to determine that there's more than one device but that takes some real analysis.

Technically if it's doing work at L3 then it's a router but I would agree that the big manufacturers do make that matter more confused when their devices can act as switches and/or routers depending on configuration and do their routing at full wire speed (when traditional routers were CPU based and slower)

In the same way, I didn't say they'll be able to see other devices with a router. But you still said they couldn't. (Rightly so) I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding more information. I'm just saying they'll still see traffic. That's all. :smile:

Don't take it like I'm trying to 'wind you up'. :smile:

Well yeah, the main reason why they start giving these switches level 3 capabilities is really for VLAN routing needs :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 15

danielshah5

Hi there just read this post, you don't have to use 3G, if you have an iPhone and have 3G coverage there is an app that enables you to use your phone as a wireless router what's more is it does not charge you for Internet but I will involve you jail breaking the iOS device hope this helps

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 16

mfaxford

Original post by MattyKins

Don't take it like I'm trying to 'wind you up'. :smile:

Fair enough.

Original post by MattyKins

Well yeah, the main reason why they start giving these switches level 3 capabilities is really for VLAN routing needs :smile:

And it gets even more fun with virtual routers and some of the latest things people are bringing in. Especially when you start joining L2 networks over L3 (things like Cisco's OTV).

Reply 17

mfaxford

Original post by danielshah5

You would need a suitable dataplan on your phone for that and if you use too much data your provider might notice and investigate further. Most phone plans are for internet on the phone only and don't allow tethering / hotspot uses.

You can do the same on android and you don't need to root the device to do it. You are still using the 3G network for it so speed and lag might become an issue.

Certainly a good solution for short term use but I don't think I'd want to rely on it long term (that's having had to recently use lots of 3g based internet for a month)

Reply 18

Zorg

Original post by danielshah5

You Uni's internet will be significantly faster than 3G. Data would also become an issue. I can tear through 100GB a month, I reckon most people can hit 10GB with moderate/light use. Most data plans are limited to 1GB (generous), or their unlimited plans will have a FUP of 3GB.

Reply 19

mrshinyshoes

So the uni i'm going to allows at least using your windows 7 laptop as a wireless bridge, but obviously I don't want my laptop on 24/7 to run my xbox and ipod, so what are the options for ethernet, have you got a link to a product i'm pretty confused over network stuff :tongue: