Hello everyone,

As part of an ongoing project to improve our wireless infrastructure at Middlebury, we’ll be testing a new configuration in a limited area (namely, 700 Exchange Street) before we go live across campus. Here’s the plan:

1. On Friday, Nov 20th, we’ll push a new configuration profile to all College-owned computers that covers both our existing infrastructure and our new one. The only change will be at the login window – if, when logging in, your laptop detects the MiddleburyCollege wireless network, it will attempt to connect first and log you in over the network. We have tested this a few different ways and it should be only a minor change in your experience.
2. During our regular Sunday morning maintenance period, we will move 700ES over to the new configuration and verify that computers and other wireless devices can connect smoothly both at 700ES and when visiting the main campus where the old configuration is in effect. If there are problems, we will roll back to the current configuration and provide an update in this space.
3. On Monday the 23rd, the configuration from step 1 should be in place and should allow everyone at 700ES to connect to MiddleburyCollege on their College-issued machines with a minimum of fuss. During this transitional period, we expect that you will need to re-enter your email/username and password once, and possibly again when going from 700ES to the main campus or vice versa. (Personal devices such as phones may prompt you to inspect and accept a new certificate before signing in; this is normal.) If there are any issues, you can contact the Helpdesk as usual. Rick James and Billy Sneed have also volunteered to make themselves available Monday morning to ensure concerns are addressed in a timely fashion.
4. Once the dust has settled, we will make a second change at 700ES to the wireless networks. This time we will remove MCPSK and Midd-standard, and add the new MiddleburyGuest network. We anticipate that this change will take place on Monday, Nov 30th. At that time we will begin a two-week period of testing by ITS staff and others to ensure that our documentation (currently at go/draftwireless) and infrastructure are both up to standards.
5. Once any issues that surface during testing are addressed, we will make the same changes on campus, with the goal of having the new infrastructure in place the week before J-term classes start.

Although we have done our best to ensure a smooth transition, it is possible that there will be issues we did not anticipate, which is why we are testing with a small group before the main rollout. Your patience and cooperation during this period is much appreciated. Most importantly, please report any Wireless connectivity problems to the Helpdesk, whether they are a result of technical issues or unclear documentation.

If you have any questions about this project, please ask them here or e-mail zschuetz@middlebury.edu.

Peace and testing,

~Zach Schuetz
Wireless Project Manager