TECH TIPS

Roaming Wireless Networks with Eduroam

In a recent Business Partner’s Round Table (BPRT) meeting, Matthew Mills, manager, customer service and desktop support within Information Resources & Technology (IRT), introduced the latest development in Wi-Fi access on campus: eduroam.

What was the takeaway from the presentation? SacLink Secure, the current wireless network we are accustomed to connecting to, is going to be retired in the fall 2017 semester, around November. This summer Eduroam will become the new standard, fully supported by IRT.

As Matthew explains, “eduroam is a secure wireless network service that allows faculty, staff, and students to use their home institution's wireless credentials to access wireless networks when visiting other eduroam participating
institutions. eduroam eliminates the need for a guest account. This will protect our credentials from being collected from unsecure or rogue access points.” For a list of participating institutions, visit: https://www.eduroam.us/institutions_list.

What are the benefits of Eduroam? Eduroam will allow users to authenticate and access any eduroam network within range, at any institution that supports it. This means, faculty, staff, or students from Sacramento State can travel to other academic institutions and access the eduroam wireless network on that campus without having to deal with temporary accounts, reduced speeds, or limited access.

Despite the upcoming change, Matthew explained that eduroam would have equal access and similar speeds to Saclink Secure, because the actual network is not any different, only the method of authentication.

To connect to eduroam, simply access your device’s wireless network settings and click/tap to connect. You will be
prompted to provide your email address (user@csus.edu) and your SacLink password to connect.

For more information on eduroam, visit IRT’s support site at: https://csus.service-now.com/service/kb?kb=KB0010619