University upgrades wireless network

  Friday, August 14, 2015 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

With more and more wi-fi enabled devices making their way onto campus every year, the Pittsburg State Office of Information Systems has been working hard to meet the ever-growing demand.

During the past five years, the number of wireless access points has more than doubled from 200 in 2010 to 460 today. Pitt State Chief Information Officer Angela Neria said the increase was necessary to keep up with the increasing demand from mobile devices.

“Whether it’s on their laptops, tablets or cell phones, we know that our students, faculty and staff depend on a strong wireless signal to be productive,” said Angela Neria, PSU chief information officer. “Nearly everyone these days has a smart phone, so the demand on our wireless network is much stronger than it was even five years ago.”

More than just increasing the number of access points across campus, the university has focused on installing stronger points that can better handle the increased online traffic.

“The access points that we have installed over the past 18 to 24 months are the latest models and are capable of much more capacity,” Neria said. “That means more client devices can connect at one time, which is especially helpful on a college campus in places like classrooms, residence halls and the library.”

To help ensure the best quality network, personal wireless routers are not allowed to be used on campus. Wireless printers and personal hot spots are also discouraged.

“The signal from these devices can cause major interruptions to the enterprise wireless network,” Neria said.

Neria said the university will continue to monitor the wireless network on campus in order to plan for future upgrades or additions.

“In the new and remodeled spaces of Nation Hall and the Overman Student Center, for example, we won’t really know where the best spot for access points are until we get a lot of people in the building who are pounding on the system,” she said. “So as we assess the needs in Nation, the OSC and across campus, we’ll continue to do what we can to make the network as quick and accessible as possible.”

Neria said anyone experiencing connectivity issues is encouraged to contact Gorilla Geeks at geeks@pittstate.edu or by calling 235-4600.