Ethernet Peripherals in Dorm Room

[ctfirsching]

I'm heading back to college soon and am trying to figure out if it's possible to set up my own wired (or wireless) network in my dorm room.

My goal is to be able to use a SilionDust HDHomeRun TV tuner and a Philips Hue Bridge in the room. I only have one ethernet plug and the enterprise wireless network in the dorm seems to be isolated from the wired.

Do I need a router or a switch for this? Also, my school requires registration of each device's MAC address. This is done in the browser on computers and phones, but I think I can submit an address for registration (they do that for Xboxes etc.). Will this registration give me trouble?

Thanks!

Christian

 

[Nermal]

It's been a while since I've done anything like that, but I *think* you can register your router's MAC address then use that to share the Internet connection with your other devices. Since your other devices aren't directly connected to the campus network they shouldn't need registration. Additionally, your devices will be isolated from other residents unless you configure your router to allow access.

In my day we had Ethernet cables hanging out the windows

 

[brand]

I'm heading back to college soon and am trying to figure out if it's possible to set up my own wired (or wireless) network in my dorm room.

You need to contact the Campus IT department to see if it is possible. Many colleges forbid extending the campus network infrastructure in anyway. Several times I have seen clueless students connect one of the LAN ports on the wireless router to the wall. Their router would then wreck havoc on the network by conflicting with the DHCP server.

 

[blanka]

If you just hookup a gigabit switch you have maximum speed in the room, yet you won't frustrate the dorms IP/MAC control policies. You just extend the network a bit. But if a non-wifi router (or wifi one with wifi disabled, prob easier to find) is allowed, pick that.

 

[narcolept]

More than likely any suggestion of how to circumvent it isn't going to work. There are network control policies in place for a reason.

More than likely, the school has ISE, NAC or similar in place. They're going to auto sense the port, and even if you were to "register" a MAC address for a switch, it's going to sense a different device the first time a second device pops on and shutdown the port. There's specific mechanisms in place to prevent exactly what you're doing, and you aren't going to outsmart it, and you're going to get the port shutdown by this mechanism.

Talk to the IT department to see what your options are. More than likely they aren't going to cater to you, but they can probably make suggestions that fit their guidelines.

Tl;dr I consult on building and maintaining enterprise and university networks for a living.

 

[takeshi74]

You need to contact the Campus IT department to see if it is possible.

^ This. Networks vary. Even switches and hubs can be a problem on our network. Don't just assume anything

In my day we had Ethernet cables hanging out the windows

In my day we had RG-62/U hanging out the windows.