The recent difficulties connecting to WolfieNet and holding a connection for a long period of time can be attributed to an increase in the amount of connections to the network, according to Michael Ospitale, campus network manager for the Division of Information Technology.
Ospitale wrote in an email that the increase in connections has created an additional demand on network infrastructures such as wireless devices, causing slow connections or none at all.
“The issue most likely is coming from infected machines connected to the Resnet network,” Ospitale wrote. “Many infected machines will scan the network as well as try to connect to outside servers, creating a significant load on infrastructure.”
Networking Services is currently working to resolve the issue, and the initial corrective action to fix it has yielded positive results so far, Ospitale wrote. However, he could not estimate how much longer it will take.
Part of resolving the issue with WolfieNet included installing 60 new wireless routers in Tabler Quad over winter break to improve coverage in the suites and study lounges, as well as repositioning routers from the C room to the centrally located B room within Tabler suites.
The two-year-old network is the first fully deployed wireless system in the residence halls. Ospitale wrote that it is common for campus residential networks to experience problems, as their complexities require continuous changes to keep up with demand, new devices, infected machines and noisy radio frequency from non-university wireless routers.
