Computers

We know you expect access to excellent computing facilities when you are working on your degree. And UNL delivers. Every student room in the regular residence halls has direct access to the Internet. We provide 10Mb Ethernet connections.

By connecting your computer in your room, you can surf the web. That's right, unlimited access to the World Wide Web. Search the library database to see if a book is available right from your room. Pursue research across the world to help with your papers. Retrieve and submit homework to your professors.

Ethernet cables are not provided. Students need to bring a 25 ft. Ethernet cable should they want to have internet access in their rooms. A phone cable will not work.

If you don't have your own computer, there are labs available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. There is at least one lab in each complex. You can just go downstairs and hop right on a computer.

Costs

There is NO additional charge for these services. No monthly or hook up fees, nothing. Compare this to Broadband services such as Cable & DSL, which can easily run you $45 every month for the same performance.

There are two things you need to know. First, you pay for laser copies you print. Second, your computer must have an Ethernet card to use an Ethernet connection. If you don't have an Ethernet card, don't buy one. Wait until you get here. We give you a great price on them and it will make connection into the University's system much easier.

How To Connect: Wireless and Wired Network Access

Wireless network access is available at all residence halls. Wireless network standards supported include 802.11n, 802.11g and 802.11a. With two wired network ports per room and over 600 access points installed in the residence halls, there's no need to bring your own wireless router or access point. In fact plugging a router (wireless or wired) or switch into the residence halls can cause conflicts on the University Network and your port will be shut off. This is an Information Services Networking Policy and is necessary to protect the integrity of the network.

Ethernet connection and registration

1. Use a network cable to connect your computer to one of the network ports in your room.

• You will need to provide your own Ethernet cable. If your desk space is across the room from the Ethernet ports, you'll probably need a 25 foot cable. If you don't have one, they are available for purchase at the UNL Computer Shop. Use the network cable to connect your computer to one of the network ports in your room.

1. Turn on the computer and open a web browser (preferably Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari.) You should be immediately directed to the "Residence hall registration" web page. If not, enter http://reshall-registration.unl.edu/ into the address bar of your browser. Click 'Next'.

The first page you get to explains the University's policy regarding illegal downloading of copyrighted material. Once you have read that information and understand it, click 'Next'.

The Registration page will then ask you to download and run the scanner.

1. The scanner will check your computer to see that you have an antivirus program installed and that your security patches are current. The two biggest reasons the scanner will not run are if your firewall is set too high (Norton Internet Security especially), or your default browser is something other than Internet Explorer or Firefox (AOL's browser is especially troublesome.)
2. You may have to temporarily disable your firewall and/or set your default browser to IE to get the scanner to work. The scanner will open a new window in your default browser and give you a report of what it found.

If you do not have an antivirus program installed, there will be a link to the University-licensed Sophos download site. You'll need to download and install the free Sophos Antivirus before the scan can continue.

Once you've gotten past the Antivirus portion, the scanner will check for vital Microsoft patches.
We require all Windows XP computers to have Service Pack 2 installed.

1. If you don't have this installed already, you can check out a Windows XP Service Pack 2 install CD at your front desk.  (Students with non-English versions of XP, contact the I.S. Computer Help Center at 472-3970.)
2. There are a limited number of CDs available and the install will take some time, depending on the speed of your computer, so please return the CD to the desk as soon as you're done so others can use it.

Once your computer has the required minimum patch level, you will be required to log in using your My.UNL (Blackboard) ID and password.

1. The ID will be something like: 's-firstinitiallaststnamenumber' and your password will be the 8 digit 'NU ID' on your N-Card, unless you've changed it in Blackboard already.

Once you're logged in, you will be instructed to wait 45 minutes and then reboot your machine.

• With the impact of 6,000 returning and new students attempting to connect to ResNet during fall move-in, the server may need 45 minutes to an hour to complete your registration. After that time, you should reboot your computer. You should now have full network access.

Wireless Registration

Once you're connecting, go to http://wireless-reg.unl.edu/ (this can be done from any connected computer).

• Log in using your MyUNL (Blackboard) ID and password.
• Once you're logged in, click on "Register a card". You'll need to input the MAC address of your wireless network card. If you don't know how to find that, go to http://resnet.unl.edu/wireless_MAC.php and follow the instructions there for your computer.

If you have any questions, please check the ResNet web site, http://resnet.unl.edu/.