Q: What kind of wireless standard does Bowling Green State University support?

A: Bowling Green State University started with the 802.11b (11 Mb) standard for all wireless on campus but has now adopted the 820.11g (54 Mb) standard for all new installations. 802.11g is backwards compatible with 802.11b card, but people with the 802.11b cards will only be able to connect at 11 Mb.

Q: What kind of wireless ethernet card do i need t purchase?

A:  Wireless Recommendations.

Q: How do I get my computer to connect to the wireless network?

A: First make sure you have it set up correctly by checking out our wireless documentation for  Windows XP,  OS X, or  OS 9. If that doesn't work make sure the SSID "bgsu" is in all lower case without quotes and WEP is disabled.

Q: How do I know what areas are wireless?

A: There are wireless maps for both the  Main Campus and  Firelands Campus on the networking web site. Scroll your mouse over the buildings to see their names or click and hold on the building to see further information on what is wireless. For a printable list of wireless locations  click here. You may be able to connect to the wireless network near or around the these locations, but ITS will not support support any signal quality problems in these areas.

Q: Why does my signal quality change from time to time?

A: Unlike the wired network wireless is greatly affected by its location, orientation of the antenna, and various electronics in that location. For example someone using a powerful enough microwave oven can take down an entire wireless network.

Q: I can't seem to access anything from CICS (RADAR) on my wireless laptop.

A: Because of security issues involving wireless, ITS will not permit any access of radar from the wireless network.

Q: The area I am in has wireless, but my connection only shows one or two bars. Is this a problem?

A: This is not necessarily a problem. The bars represent signal strength and with wireless signal quality is more important. It is very likely that even though your signal strength is very low or showing one bar that you are still connecting a the maximum speed. There is also an issue with the microsoft wireless driver that will show you having a much lower signal strength then you are receiving.

Q: Why does the wireless network move slower than the wired?

A: The wired network is a switched networked with a dedicated 10 or 100 Mb connection per a user where the wireless network is a shared 11 mb connection at best. The wireless network is not meant to replace the wired network. It is only an addition to it.

Q: Does BGSU provide a secured wireless connection?

A: Yes Bowling Green State University does provide a secured wireless connection known as a VPN. You can find the documentation  Here.