Courier™ Case Studies

Illinois Institute of Technology Goes Wireless With USRobotics

Organization:

Illinois Institute of Technology

Location:

Chicago, IL

Type of Business:

University

Products Used:

USR5450 802.11g Wireless Turbo Access Point, USR5410 802.11g Wireless Turbo PC Card

The Challenge

Students from the Illinois Institute of Technology Rice Campus (IIT) were faced with a limited number of lab computers to securely check e-mail and surf the Web. Deciding on the appropriate technology, precise installation and network compatibility was critical.

In an effort to help IIT students keep up with the latest technological advances, the school turned to U.S. Robotics for the wireless technology equipment they needed, while IIT students made the installation possible.

The Solution

Dennis Hasenfang, an undergraduate student in Information Technology and Management at IIT, coordinated the implementation of five U.S. Robotics 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Points and oversaw the installation and programming to make it compatible with IIT’s network.

Hasenfang solicited help from fellow classmates, Chris Willis and Michael McClone to install and program the network. The three students took turns wiring and testing the technology to ensure that the entire campus was covered by 802.11b (Wi-Fi) and 802.11g standards. Their network implementation consisted of the following products:

USR5450 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point
USR5410 802.11g Wireless Turbo PC Card

The Benefits

According to Hasenfang, “U.S. Robotics gave us a real-world experience not usually available in an academic environment. We were given the opportunity to manage the entire IIT wireless network and create a system that connects students to the Internet seamlessly.”

To ensure security of the system, Hasenfang, Willis and McClone easily integrated the wireless network with IIT’s database of student’s. Thus, improving access and DHCP security, by limiting network access only to members of the IIT community.

Students can now purchase a network adapter through an IIT Student Purchase Program to securely access the network and Internet from any location on the IIT Rice campus from their notebooks.

“As a result of this (U.S. Robotics solution), students who check e-mail and surf the Web are no longer tying up the limited number of lab computers,”said RayTrygstad, director of information technology for the center for professional development at IIT. “The ability to provide power to the wireless access points through U.S. Robotics gave us enormous flexibility in where and how they should be installed. Thanks to persistence, a generous organization, and some hard work from students, the wireless network is completely operational at IIT’s Rice Campus,”he added.