Networking

Oakland University offers wireless connectivity for registered staff, students, and faculty in most buildings on campus. Oakland University does perform some bandwidth limiting on the various guest networks on campus to preserve network resources for our students and the faculty and staff who support them. OU continuously works to increase coverage and performance for indoor spaces of campus.

Oakland University currently offers the following wireless networks to support students, faculty and staff:

• Grizznet-Secure
  • An encrypted wireless network that is available in all campus buildings except for Housing.
  • The wireless network that students, faculty and staff should connect to by default.
  • This wireless network will provide you with the greatest access to the University’s systems.
  • Instructions for use can be found here or by scanning the QR code below.

• Grizzlies
  • An un-encrypted wireless network that is available in all Campus Housing buildings.
  • Access to this wireless network is available to all University students, faculty and staff. Being a resident of campus housing is not required.
  • Instructions for use can be found here
• eduroam
  • eduroam is a global wireless network access service for research and education.
  • This is an encrypted wireless network.
  • As an Oakland University student, faculty or staff, you do have access to this wireless network. We encourage you to configure this wireless network on your device(s) if you plan on visiting another eduroam participating campus or institution.
  • As this wireless network will not provide you with as many of the University’s systems as Grizznet-Secure, we discourage its use while on Oakland University’s campus
  • Instructions for use can be found here
• grizznet
  • A legacy wireless network on Oakland University’s campus.
  • Communication on this wireless network is not encrypted and its use is discouraged.
  • This wireless network will be discontinued as we work to resolve special use cases for labs and other educational needs.
  • Instructions for use can be found here 

Wireless Network Access for University Labs and other Educational Needs

Encrypted wireless networks for University labs and other educational needs are currently under development.

Oakland University currently offers the following wireless networks to support the various visitors and guests to our campus:

• eduroam
  • eduroam is a global wireless network access service for research and education.
  • This is an encrypted wireless network that is available to visitors from an eduroam participating institution.
  • You should work with instructions from your home institution to connect to this network.
  • Instructions for use can be found here
• Grizznet-Guest
  • This is an open and unencrypted wireless network that we provide for all other guests to our campus.
  • This network is currently available in all campus buildings except for Housing.
  • Connecting to this wireless network simply requires a valid email address and accepting our Terms & Conditions.
  • Instructions for use can be found here

What is Network Access?

Network Access is the ability to use the wired and wireless networks provided by Oakland University. Network Access includes the ability to use a browser (i.e., Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) to browse web sites or otherwise access the Internet.

Who can obtain Network Access?

Students, Faculty, and Staff of Oakland University may use Network Access by registering their device at https://clearpass.oakland.edu and logging in with their assigned NetID and password. Employees (Faculty and Staff) are provided Network Access in order to successfully complete their work at Oakland University. Students are provided Network Access as a service with costs covered by tuition.

Who are Visitors and Guests?

Visitors are those people who visit the campus for short periods of time and their identity is not authenticated. Visitors may attend events in designated locations. Guests visit for defined periods of time and the identity of a guest is authenticated by showing and recording a picture ID or through event registration.

Can Visitors obtain Network Access, particularly wireless Network Access?

Visitors may be registered by accompanied students, faculty, and staff. Students, faculty, and staff interacting with visitors may provide short-term network access through the network registration process for registering computers. The network registration process is located at https://clearpass.oakland.edu. Visitors may obtain Network Access in affiliated Oakland University areas, such as the Golf and Learning Center special facilities, special events in the Oakland Center, special events in Meadow Brook Hall, or other designated event locations. Those sponsoring access should maintain name lists for those for whom they provide access. All network uses are required to comply with university policy #890 Use of University Information Technology Resources.

Can Guests obtain Network Access, particularly wireless Network Access?

Short-term Guests participating in an event in the Oakland Center or Meadow Brook Hall, or visiting Kresge Library, may obtain Network Access. For events in the Oakland Center or Meadow Brook Hall, event organizers need to arrange for Network Access should at the time the event is planned. Event attendees should check with the event organizer about network access. Event attendees are responsible for compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and university policies and should note that network access activities are tracked and subject to legal action.

Short-term Guests using Kresge Library desktop computers may arrange for wired network access on those machines by requesting a guest account at the Service Desk in the lobby of the library. Guests must present a valid photo ID card (Driver's license or state ID). Wireless access is not available in the Library for short-term Guests.

Long-term Guests are those who need Network Access for longer than one day. Long-term Guests must be sponsored by a department. The form NetID - Guest Account Request Form must be completed and submitted for long-term Guest Network Access. Access must be sponsored by a department. Oakland University does not sell or lease access. Guests are responsible for compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and university policies and should note that network access activities are tracked and subject to legal action.

Oakland University also allows guests from eduroam participating institutions to connect automatically through the wireless SSID eduroam.

Can a university department arrange Event Guest network access during an event in the Oakland Center, Meadow Brook Hall, Kresge Library, or other location?

In some locations and with advance planning, temporary network access can be arranged for an official university event. The sponsoring department should contact University Technology Services at [email protected]. Event planning details are needed as early as possible before the event date. UTS will analyze the request and provide a response about possibilities and costs. Please note that most campus locations are not ready to have large numbers of visitors access the wireless network. Special event planners wishing to offer Guest Network Access for large groups, groups involving minors, or groups in areas that are not standard event facilities must contact University Technology Services for planning, review, and approval prior to the event. To initiate the review process, please complete the following steps by sending this information to [email protected]:

• Number of attendees.
• Location of the event, including building, room, or general area of coverage.
• Reason for internet access (e.g., general web surfing, gaming event, instructional activity, etc.).
• Provide the email identity and name of the OU employee responsible for the event. If the event is organized by a Student Organization, provide the name and email identity for the Faculty Advisor.
• Start and end date of the event.
• Internet access for youth (under the age of 18) requires special provisioning. Review all materials posted at the Youth Protection web site. Implement a waiver form that must be signed by participants; send a copy of the blank form. The event sponsor should retain completed waiver forms. To request the waiver form, email [email protected].

After reviewing and approving the submission, UTS will provide login credentials and access for the duration of the event. Please plan for a minimum of two weeks for the review process. UTS cannot guarantee wireless performance during the event, or can UTS assist with connectivity issues.

• Network connectivity is governed by official Policy #850 - Network Policy. Departments and operations must contact University Technology Services to extend the network into new locations.
• Network access and use are governed by Policy #890 Use of University Information Technology Resources.
• Access and use may be limited, restricted, or suspended in situations where there is an abnormally excessive usage of resources, suspicious or illegal activity, or during an investigation as approved under guidelines in Policy #890 and approved by the Office of Legal Affairs.
• All non-wireless computers must connect directly to a network jack on the wall. Unless prior written consent has been granted, no desktop hubs, switches, or routers are permitted. Unapproved devices will be removed by UTS.
• Servers operating on the University network must be approved and either operated by University Technology Services or be covered by an appropriate Service Level Agreement (SLA). Servers must be operated in compliance with Policy #880 - Systems Administration. or will be disconnected from the network.
• To review all information technology and networking related university policies and guidelines, please review the Policies and Guidelines site.

All computers connecting to the Oakland University network must be registered to an Oakland constituent before network access will be granted. All registration data must be accurate, and periodic re-registration will take place annually to ensure that all records are current. Any computer which remains powered off or disconnected from the University network for more than 180 days is automatically de-registered.

• Information about the University Network Registration System

Contractors performing authorized work, as well as vendors soliciting responses for Request for Proposals (RFPs) must abide by the Network Physical Plant Standards when submitting proposals for, performing changes on, or installing network infrastructure. 

The following items should also be taken into account when designing systems that connect to the Oakland University network.

• All device-to-device network communications must use IPv4 over Ethernet. Legacy protocols such as IPX/SPX and NetBEUI are prohibited.
• All network-connected devices should be IPv6-capable. If not, the vendor should have an IPv6 roadmap and/or migration strategy.
• All device-to-device network communications must allow for connectivity between subnets. Direct layer 2 connectivity between devices cannot be guaranteed and must not be required by this system.
• All network-connected devices must support standards-compliant DHCP including periodic lease renewal prior to expiration.
• All network-connected devices must present only a single MAC address to its directly-connected switch. All network-connected devices must never act as bridges or attempt to participate in spanning tree. Filtering transit BPDUs is prohibited.
• All required network communications must be documented and diagrammed, including: source/destination device, IP protocols, and UDP/TCP port numbers.
• If IPsec is used to secure device-to-device communications, NAT-Traversal/Transparency must be supported.
• All network-connected devices must only send (and be able to receive) IP packets that are less than or equal to 1500 bytes in size including the IP header.
• Primary remote vendor support must be conducted via the university-provided VPN. Remote support provided via dial-in modem may be provided as a secondary method.
• All new cabling installed for this system must be performed under the supervision of UTS and follow existing university standards.
• If name resolution is required, all network-connected devices must use DNS. WINS must not be required for name resolution.
• "Universal Plug and Play" (UPnP) must not be required for system functionality.
• All network-connected devices should support 802.1x.
• All network-connected devices requiring PoE (Power over Ethernet) must be compatible with standards based IEEE 802.3af or 802.3at specifications. Note that prior to purchasing a device a ticket should be opened with Network Communications to ensure the location is PoE capable.