Wireless Networking

Rhodes has an extensive wireless network covering more than thirty-five different locations on campus. Our wireless network is built on WiFi technology, and supports the 802.11 a/b/g standards.

University Wireless Networks

There are three separate wireless networks in use at Rhodes, each serving a different segment of the University population. These networks are identified by the name (or SSID) that displays on your PC when you're trying to connect. They are:

• The eduroam wireless network. This network is intended for staff & students from Rhodes as well as from other eduroam participating organisations.  The type of network access you get when connecting to this network depends on who you are: Rhodes staff are connected to the same network as if they'd connected to the ru.ac.za wireless network; Rhodes students connect to the Student Network; visitors connect to a guest network that provides Internet access.  Please see our eduroam page for more details of this service.

• The ru.ac.za wireless network. This secure network is intended for use by University staff, post-doctoral fellows, guests and certain visitors.

  To use this network you will need to configure your computer to make use of WPA-Enterprise or WPA2-Enterprise security (the latter being preferred). Step-by-step instructions for doing this are available for Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7; technical details are available for other users. You'll then need to authenticate each time you use the network using your normal Rhodes username & password.

  You'll also need to register your PC the first time you connect to the network. To do this connect to the ru.ac.za wireless network and then try and visit any web site. Your browser will ask you to log in and complete the registration process.

• The campus.ru.ac.za wireless network. This is a legacy network is intended for use by students, and has been deprecated in favour of the eduroam wireless network.  Support for it will likely be discontinued in 2013.

Public Internet Access

‌‌‌The University has partnered with AlwaysOn, one of South Africa's leading hotspot providers, to make public Internet access available on our campus.  This service is available to conference delegates, festival visitors, and the public in general.  There are no special requirements for using AlwaysOn's service, and no paperwork to complete.  You simply need to connect to AlwaysOn's wireless network, which at Rhodes is called AlwaysOn@Rhodes.

More information on AlwaysOn's service, including their tarrifs, roaming agreements, terms and conditions and instructions for connecting, can be found on their web site (http://www.alwayson.co.za/).

Should you need help connecting to AlwaysOn's wireless network, please contact their dedicated helpdesk on 0861 HOTSPOT (4687768).

Every Rhodes wireless hotspot is also an AlwaysOn hotspot.

Campus Hotspots

Rhodes' wireless network does not cover the whole of the University's campus. Instead, there are a number of wireless hotspots in various locations on campus, such as the larger lecture venues, the main & Cory libraries, some academic departments, the day kaif, and public or exhibition spaces.

‌The location of the various wireless hotspots on campus is shown on our interactive coverage map. On the map, buildings containing hotspots are marked with a purple wireless icon like the one on the right.  More information is available on the map's page.

A complete, but somewhat more cryptic, list of individual access points is available from our network monitoring system. This list shows the current state of access points — red is bad, and probably means the access point is not currently working.

Public areas that have wireless access available for general use by staff and students typically indicate this by means of the purple antenna symbol shown on the right. You should be able to pick up any of the University's wireless networks within the immediate vicinity (usually 20–30 metres) of the sign.

Any of these hotspots are also an AlwaysOn hotspots.