Eduroam is one of two internet connections provided by NC State. Eduroam differs from the “ncsu” network in that it offers more protection and it allows users to connect to the internet at various research institutions across the world.
Stan Martin, senior director of the Office of Information Technology for Outreach, Communications, and Consulting, described some of the benefits of eduroam.
“One is the encryption, the ease-of use, and the ability to use in other locations,” Martin said.
Eduroam servers are encrypted, meaning messages that are sent are encoded and only authorized parties are allowed to see the information exchanged, according to Needham Parks, network specialist at the Office of Information Technology. This means that someone unauthorized cannot steal a user’s personal information, like passwords or credit card information.
Kristina Kelly, associate director of Network Operations, said eduroam servers verify users that want to connect and provide them with online access in the UNC System. Meaning, if a person connects to eduroam at other locations, the certificates on a person’s device allows them to connect to the internet. A list of locations that support eduroam can be found on the organization’s website.
To keep track of internet statistics on campus, NC State uses a system called Voyance, which keeps track on information like the number of devices using Wi-Fi on campus or popular websites that are visited.
“What our tools do for common sites, like for Facebook, for Netflix, even Google and Twitch, it automatically defines those,” Kelly said. “We know the traffic that goes at a broad level at those particular sites. If it is something not as used, those aren’t automatically defined and they go in this big bucket.”
Kelly clarified what it means when she says certain websites are put into a “bucket,” saying sites that aren’t automatically defined either go into the category Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). SSL contains secured websites, while HTTP consists of unsecured websites. Kelly said that OIT can look into the SSL category and HTTP, and look for certain websites and applications like Instagram or Snapchat. Kelly said NC State uses Voyance to monitor and look for any potential problems, such as if a website is using more data than usual.
Kelly also provides statistics for Internet usage, saying around 45,000 devices connect to the internet on campus every day. Of those 45,000 devices, around 16,000 of those devices are connected through eduroam. Kelly said NC State has two separate wireless systems; one dedicated to academic buildings and ResNet, which is used in residence halls.
In academic buildings, Kelly said most people use the internet between noon and 3 p.m. During these hours, students and staff often visit Google services. Through ResNet, most people use the internet between 6 p.m. and midnight. Some of the most commonly used websites are used for streaming media, like Netflix.
NC State encourages all students to use eduroam. Martin says they promote eduroam during freshman orientation, student fairs and on the OIT website. While NC State has an easier time convincing freshmen and incoming students to use eduroam, they are having trouble encouraging upperclassmen to do the same.
Kelly said the hesitancy for upperclassmen to use eduroam comes from prior experience enrolling in eduroam.
The university recently switched vendors that provide certificates and access to the eduroam network. With the previous vendor, NC State received some complaints from the Walk-In Center and the Help Desk. These complaints included that the enrollment wouldn’t process or certificates and applications wouldn’t work on certain devices. After switching to a new vendor, SecureW2, Kelly said they received fewer complaints and a lower failure rate for enrolling to eduroam.
To enroll in eduroam, students need a cryptographic certificate installed on their devices. Certificates are a way to ensure a user is legitimately connecting to a network from a certain device. For those who are interested in enrolling in eduroam, the NC State Wireless Network Access website has a list of instructions to do so.
