Colby provides wired and wireless networking services to the entire campus and its faculty, staff, students and visitors. Virtual Private Network (VPN) service and wireless device management, such as an Apple TV, Roku or game systems is available to all Colby account holders.
How Do I Get It?
Wired Network Connection
The wired Ethernet connection is the most secure, fast and reliable network connection method to gain access to the Internet and all Colby’s network resources. Wired Ethernet ports are available in all offices and residences as well as most common areas.
Wireless Networking
Colby currently offers three wireless networks throughout campus to serve the different needs of the community and its guests.
The ‘Colby Access’ wireless network is intended for use by all Colby account holders (students, faculty and staff) and provides access to general information technology resources such as printing, file and software servers. Connection to this network is authenticated (username and password) and is encrypted in transmission to ensure privacy. More information about connecting a mobile device to Colby Access can be found here.
The ‘Colby Guest Access’ wireless network is intended for use by visitors and guests of the College. All clients must register an email address for 24 hours of access. Conference identifiers can be issued by ITS for longer access upon request. Connections to information technology resources such as licensed programs, campus printers, or access to the file servers is restricted. More information about connecting to Colby Guest Access can be found here.
The ‘eduroam’ wireless network is a secure global roaming network available at hundreds of education and research institutions in the United States and around the world. The eduroam network allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to quickly connect to the network and when visiting other participating institutions by authenticating using their home institution’s credentials. More information about eduroam can be found here.
Registering a Network Device
Wireless devices such as smart TV’s, gaming systems, entertainment appliances like Apple TV and Roku and any other network device (Google Home devices, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home devices) that does not support WPA2 Enterprise (required by the ‘Colby Access’ wireless network) must be registered in order to connect to the ‘Colby Guest Access’ wireless network. Any Colby account holder can register a device by accessing clearpass.colby.edu. Wireless devices such as printers and Sonos’s speakers are designed for a home network. If you have a wireless printer it will need to be connected via USB cable.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
VPN service provides secure access to Colby’s online resources such as file servers, print servers, software licensing and various web-based services when away from campus. Because it secures all network traffic, ITS strongly recommends using a VPN connection when connecting to Colby resources over any unsecured (open or public) wireless network. The VPN can be accessed through a browser at vpn.colby.edu or by connecting through the Pulse Secure software client installed on all college-issued computers.