Students and faculty began testing a new wireless ethernet system last week at Tisch Library that allows them to connect their laptops to the Internet without cables.
In a pilot program between Tisch staff and Tufts Communication and Computing Services (TCCS), students can now check out wireless ethernet cards from the circulation desk.
While students have had the ability to plug their laptops into ethernet ports in the library for the last year, it can only be done on one of 28 ports available on the main level of Tisch. The new cards will expand the areas where students and faculty can use the Internet in the library and allow more people to take advantage of the technology.
Among the advantages of being able to connect to the Internet from personal computers is that students cannot access word processors, and many other applications, from the Tisch terminals.
Staff from Tufts OnLine, the University's residential computing network, will assist students in loading drivers for the network cards onto their laptops. To use the cards, students must complete a series of forms, including an authorization form and a general information form on wireless networking. The packet, available at the Tisch reference desk, also includes a map indicating the best reception areas in the library.
When Tisch was built around the Wessell Library in 1996, wired ports were included, but it was difficult to wire some of the older portions of the building, according to Library Systems Administrator Richard Heckbert.
"One of the reasons we were so quick to join in on this pilot project was the library's desire to provide network access for our patrons all over the building," he said. "This is one of the great advantages of wireless in that you don't need to tear up a building to add network connectivity."
The ports that were built into the library were not activated until last year for security reasons. Since that time, many students have suggested implementing wireless ethernet to the library. TCCS formally proposed the pilot after TCCS administrator Doug Herrick asked Tisch to participate.
TCCS and Tisch will evaluate the project under the pilot program to determine how useful the service is to students. If successful, Heckbert said, TCCS will consider adding more access points to provide library-wide coverage. The cards may eventually be improved to operate at a higher frequency and provide a faster connection. Library patrons may also be able to use their own cards for wireless access.
The connection now used at Tisch, called Wi-Fi, operates at rates up to 11 Mps, comparable to the speed of networks in Tufts dormitories.
In the past, high costs prevented the University from experimenting with wireless technology. "Only in the last few years have standards settled enough and prices come down enough to make it feasible for us," Heckbert said.
Other universities have implemented extensive wireless ethernet systems in the past few years. Yale has wireless ethernet in two of its residential dorms and several academic buildings, and Carnegie Mellon University wired all of its academic and administrative buildings and outdoor areas in 1999.
