Connecting via Wireless

The Student Network makes use of secure (WPA2) wireless network called eduroam.  When you're in range of this network, you'll find it displayed in your PC's wireless network list:

(Windows 7/Vista)

(Windows XP)

The following document describes how to connect to this network using Windows 7, Vista, or Windows XP. If you use a different operating system, check the Configs page.

Connecting with Vista/Windows 7

Windows 7 and Vista come with the necessary software to connect to our network pre-installed. You should be able to connect to the network by simply double-clicking on the eduroam wireless network and entering your Rhodes username and password when prompted, thus:

Note that when you enter your Rhodes username, you should append "@campus.ru.ac.za" to the end of it (making it the same as your email address).

The first time you connect, you may see a security alert:

You can check the credentials by clicking on Details arrow - we use a certificate in the name of register.ru.ac.za signed by DigiCert Inc.  Once you're satisfied that you're talking to Rhodes, you can click Connect.

Note: if you're repeatedly prompted for a username and password, see the section on this below.

Connecting with Windows XP

Before you can connect a Windows XP computer to the network, you need to install a special piece of software (called a supplicant) on your computer. Do this as follows:

1. Download the Rhodes Wireless installer from https://register.ru.ac.za/download/ and copy it to the computer you want to connect to the wireless network. The easiest way to do this is to use a friend's computer or a public lab PC to save the installer onto a flash stick, and the use the flash stick to copy it onto your computer. (You can also take your PC to the Student Help Desk to do this.) Note that this installer is not available from off-campus!
2. On the computer you're trying to connect, run the RUSecureW2.exe application.

   

3. Click Nextto start the Rhodes Wireless installation process.

   

4. Choose the STUDENT.RU option to connect to the Student Networking wireless network and click Begin Install. (Make sure you select the right option here, or you'll connect to a network that you can't use.)

   

5. The Rhodes Wireless Installer will now automatically launch the SecureW2 installer with the correct options. Select English as your preferred language and click on OK.

   

6. Click Nextto start the SecureW2 EAP Suite installation process.

   

7. Accept the copyright notice by clicking on the I Agreebutton.

   

8. Ensure the TTLS component is selected and then click Install.

   

9. Enter you Rhodes username (without appending "@campus.ru.ac.za" as this is in the Realm field) and password when you're prompted and then click OK. Be careful when doing this because the installer does not check you've got your password correct — you'll only find out you've got it wrong when you can't connect to the network.

   

   If you see an error message saying "Failed Setting SSID Configuration" at this point, see the section below in dealing with this error.
10. Click on the Finish button to close the SecureW2 EAP Suite installer, and Finishto close the Rhodes Wireless installer.

    

11. Reboot your computer.
12. Your computer should now automatically connect to the eduroam wireless network whenever it is in range.

    

13. Complete the sign-up process as you would on a wired network.

    

If you make a mistake at any point during the installation process (for instance, you select the wrong user type or enter your password incorrectly), it should be safe to simply Cancel the process and start again. You can also completely remove the Rhodes Wireless supplicant by using your computer's Add or Remove Programs dialog to uninstall the Secure W2 EAP Suite application.

What to do if you see a "Failed Setting SSID Configuration" error

Some people may find that SecureW2 fails to install with the error "Failed setting SSID configuration" shortly asking for a username and password. There are common reasons this happens:

The most likely reason is that your PC manufacturer supplies specific software to manage your wireless card (as Intel and Dell do, for instance). If this is the case, you should disable this software and use Windows' built-in wireless management. How you do this depends on the software, but in general you're looking for a "Use Windows to manage this device" or "Use Zeroconf" option. See your PC or network card's manual for more details.

If you still receive the same error after doing this, then the most likely cause is that your PC does not have hardware support for WPA2-Enterprise (this will happen in some older laptops, usually pre-2004). Try re-running the installer and checking the I've got an older computer that does not support WPA2-Enterprise (advanced use only) option. If that doesn't work, you may still use the wireless network if you configure your wireless connection manually. Do the following:

1. From the Start menu, go to Connect To and then Show all connections. (If you use the Windows classic menu, go to Settings and then Network Connections instead.)
2. Right-click on the Wireless Network Connection icon and click View Available Wireless Networks.
3. Click on Change advanced settings, then click on the Wireless Networks tab.
4. If there's an existing campus.ru.ac.za or eduroam network in the Preferred networks list, select it and then click on the Remove button to remove it.
5. Click on the Add button to add a new wireless network.
6. Type eduroam in the Network Name (SSID) box.
7. Set Network Authentication to WPA and Data Encryption to TKIP. (Note that if neither WPA nor WPA2 are listed as available Network Authentication methods, then your wireless network card is simply too old to connect to our network and should be replaced.)
8. Click on the Authentication tab.
9. Change the EAP type to SecureW2 EAP-TTLS and then click on the Properties button.
10. Select the Rhodes Student profile in the SecureW2 Configuration window's Profile box and then click OK.
11. Press OK to close the Wireless network properties window and OK to close the Wireless Network Connection Properties window.

What to do if your PC won't boot

Some people may find that their PC doesn't boot properly after installing SecureW2. This is caused by faulty wireless card drivers, so you should try upgrading your computers' drivers. You can work around the problem by turning off wireless as your PC boots (on laptops there is usually a button to disable wireless) and then only turning it back on once your PC has booted.

What to do if you see a certificate error (or are repeatedly prompted for a username & password)

If you've used the campus.ru.ac.za wireless network in previous years, you may find that you cannot re-connect to the network now. The reason for this is that we change our certificate provider from time to time, and your connection is expecting to use the old providers' certificates.

By far the simplest way to deal with this problem is to completely remove any configuration settings relating to the campus.ru.ac.za or eduroam wireless networks (uninstall SecureW2, remove SSID configuration, etc). Then start again. This will cause your computer to re-detect the certificate we're using.

Changing Your Password

If you need to change your saved password at any stage, do the following:

1. Go to your PC's Start menu, find the SecureW2 folder, and then start the TTLS Manager application.
2. Select the Rhodes Student profile from the drop-down list and then click the Configure button.
3. Select the User account tab.
4. Enter a new password in the Password: field. Note that the program does not check whether this is correct — you'll only find this out when you actually try to connect to the network. If you'd prefer, you can check the Prompt user for credentials option to cause your PC to ask you for a username and password every time you connect.
5. Click OK to close the Rhodes Student profile and OK again to close the TTLS Manager.

Be very careful not to change any other options when re-configuring the SecureW2 supplicant. Most of them are required to make your wireless work properly. In particular, do not change the Realm or outer identity.