Our current setup are three Dells, wired DSL. I'm moving in a few weeks to the Atlanta area. They use wireless. I'm buying wireless NICs in preparation of the move. My question: I'm currently wired, I want to hook up a wireless card on each Dell (and a compatible wireless router)
When you say "They use wireless"... who are they? To create your own wi-fi home network yes... you need wi-fi adaptors for each Dell. If you go with internal NIC make sure each Dell has room for the card. (open slot) There are other options such as USB wi-fi adaptors. And yes you'll need a wireless router. I'd get the same brand as your wireless NICs or USB adaptors. But if "they" means the city of Atlanta then that's a different story. If you'll be in an area with free or paid wi-fi you don't need the wireless router. So explain who "they" are. If you're not moving to a free or paid wi-fi area you don't need any new equipment. You can stay wired.
problem is that various colleges have assorted security policies in dealing with student owned computers. Most require that you register the MAC address of the connecting device. Some require that VPN clients or X.509 certificates be used to authenticate that you are really a genuine student, not a hacker. For example, Resnet (Residence Network) at Georgia Tech:
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registering routers and limits users to one computer.
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While it's a good idea to test the new computers before going to Atlanta, I don't think simulating the college environment is going to be practical or useful.
If all else fails, you could get her a router that allows for MAC address spoofing. That way she can hook up her wired connection long enough to register with their network and later plug in the router and have it report the same MAC address as her PC.
If she uses the wireless router you might want to make sure you have the strongest wireless security turned on the router allows for or other students may try to plug into her feed and possibly cause problems like downloading/uploading possibly illegal stuff using her IP address.
Students are not allowed to have routers, switches or any other wireless network devices, such as Airports, · in their dorm rooms. Wireless keyboards and other devices operating via Bluetooth are okay.
If any virus or spam activity is detected, network service may be discontinued indefinitely until the problem · is resolved.
Sounds like you might want to hold off on the wifi until you get the lay of the land. It might be an old rule that isn't enforced any more, but then again maybe it still is.
I know someone that works there and lives in faculty housing. Last I heard he used a dialup to get his internet fix. It sounds like the students have a much better deal with an ethernet drop to their rooms
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