A. Any member of the campus community who has a valid CalNetID and passphrase
may login and use AirBears. Accounts for guests may be created by
Faculty and Staff using the AirBears
Guest Account Service.
Q. How much does AirBears cost to use?
A. AirBears is currently provided free of charge to members of the
campus community.
Q. What locations does AirBears cover? How do I suggest additional sites?
A list of covered sites on campus is available here.
If you have a recommendation on locations that would serve a large number of
users, please send them to the airbears-wireless mailing list.
Q. Where can I get help and support with installing a wireless card in my laptop?
A. Students can receive help after November 1st, 2001 at the Student Computer Consulting
Service. Faculty and staff should contact their departmental IT staff or
Dr. Micro as appropriate.
Q. Do I need to register my wireless card's MAC address to use AirBears?
A. No, you do not need to register your wireless card in order to use
AirBears. AirBears uses a "captive portal" to authenticate your session with
CalNetID and the associated passphrase.
Q. Which 802.11b wireless ethernet card should I get?
A. Any WiFi compatible 802.11b ethernet card should work with AirBears.
Here is a list of cards we know work with AirBears:
- * tried and works
- + tried and works with OS specfic changes
- - tried and did not work
- ? did not try
- d Driver software only supports one config at a time (cannot automatically adapt to different SSIDs)
- NOTE: Macintosh laptops that have built-in antennas must use Apple Airport cards only
| 802.11b Card | Win98 | Win2000 | FreeBSD 4.3 | MacOS 9/9.1 | MacOS X |
|---|
| Apple AirPort | ? | ? | ? | * | * |
Avaya/Orinoco/Lucent/Wavelan Silver/Gold
Farallon Skyline | * | * | * (wi) | * | * |
| Cisco Aironet 340 | ? | * | * (an) | | |
| Cisco Aironet 350 | ? | * | * (an) | | |
| DLink WL650 | * d | ? | * (wi) | | |
| Intel | ? | ? | - (wi) | | |
| Linksys | d | ? | ? | | |
Q. Where can I purchase a wireless card?
A. Many computer stores online and off sell the cards. The
Scholars Workstation sells and supports laptops and wireless cards for
campus users.
Q. What protocol(s) is/are supported by AirBears?
A. AirBears supports Internet Protocol (IP) over 802.11b wireless ethernet
only. This allows authenticated users to run all common and popular internet
applications.
Q. How fast is the AirBears service?
A. 802.11b wireless ethernet networks are a shared medium and the bandwidth of
your connection will vary depending on your location (with respect to the
wireless access point) and the number of other users you are sharing the
service (at that location) with. 802.11b has a theoretical rate of 10Mbps in
either direction (half-duplex). In the ideal case, a single user can expect
upto 4Mbps with no other users at the access point. The 802.11b standard
allows for wireless client cards to automatically adapt their connection rate
with the closest access point for best performance.
Various objects between an AirBears user's computer and the access point may
interfere with the wireless network connection including large metal objects
(ie. elevators), microwave ovens and 2.4Ghz cordless phones.
Q. Can I use AirBears while walking around?
You can expect a signal to be strong enough to connect to AirBears upto
100-300ft from the wireless access point at a location. Some locations may
have multiple access points.
The current setup of AirBears allows you to move around at the same location
(ie. inside the Cesar Chavez Study Center) and retain your connection.
Depending on the wireless network signal, your connection bandwidth will vary
as you move.
There is also limited, experimental support for roaming between covered
locations. Needless to say, you will not have a connection while you are in
transit through areas without coverage. If you get to the new site and do not
receive the AirBears login screen on your web-browser, then your session is
still active and will continue to work.
Q. Can I leave my laptop permananently connected to AirBears? Can I run a server on it?
A. Due to the dynamic IP addressing and shared, limited bandwidth of a
802.11b wireless network, it is not a suitable service for non-interactive
use or running servers. The AirBears wireless network service is not a
replacement for the higher-bandwidth, wired campus network.
Q. Where can I make suggestions, get help or discuss AirBears?
A. Subscribe to the airbears-wireless mailing list! Send email to
Majordomo@listlink.berkeley.edu
with the following command in
the body of your email message:
subscribe airbears-wireless
Q. To whom do I report a location where AirBears was working but doesn't now?
A. If you are able to use AirBears in one location but not in another one
that is advertised as currently served, please
report the problem to the IST Trouble Desk.
Q. What are the health effects of AirBears?
A. See the Health and
Safety Issues section of the AirBears website for details.
Q. What are some other educational institutions that currently offer wireless networks to their communities?
A. Several universities around the world offer 802.11b wireless networks to
their students, faculty and staff, including:
Q. Where can I find a list of public 802.11b wireless networks outside campus that I can use with my wireless card and laptop?
A. There are many commercial and free 802.11b networks listed at the following sites:
Q. Where can I find more information about other wireless users in the Bay Area?
A. The Bay Area Wireless Users Group
might be a start.
