The campus network covers all the buildings on the main campus, most halls of residence and a number of remote University sites such as the Dove Marine laboratory, International Center for Life and the General Hospital. All members of the University can connect to the campus network, so long as they meet the requirements to connect. There are essentially three different types of user, staff, students and visitors, which determines how users are allowed to connect.
Students can connect their own machines to the network using the Docking service, over wireless or via docking points available in most student bedrooms and on campus. Since allowing personal machines onto the network is a prime source for computer viruses this method of connecting makes use of a Virtual Private Network which provides protection via a firewall.
Staff can connect University machines directly to the network but must make sure they are kept updated with the latest security patches. The simplest way to ensure a machine kept updated is to use the Campus Managed Desktop which is the recommended installation. Staff can also use the wireless service. Postgraduate Research students can connect machines as if they were staff with permission from their head of school.
Any machines found by the Security team to be infected by a virus or unpatched will be blocked or removed from the network until the problem is fixed. If you have any problems connecting to the campus network, first check the Frequently Asked Questions to see if your problem has a well known solution. If not then send an email message to helpline@ncl.ac.uk with details of the problem.