Wired Laptop Access for Mac OS X

Register Your Laptop

• Overview
• Requirements
• Registration

Configure Your Laptop

• Configure Networking Software
• Switching Between Bobst & Dialup Connections
• Configure Client Applications
• Connect to NYU-NET

Register Your Laptop

Overview

The following sections provide instructions for registering your laptop, configuring your system and accessing the Internet at Bobst Library. The instructions differ somewhat depending on what other types of connections to NYU-NET you have installed. The basic steps for installation and use are:

1. Install the Ethernet card (most Macintoshes come with Ethernet cards already installed).
2. Make sure you meet the requirements.
3. Register your laptop.
4. Configure the networking software.
5. Configure the client applications.
6. Connect.

Connections on ResNet and at Bobst use identical network configurations. If you have a functioning ResNet connection, you do not have to reconfigure your networking software, and you do not need to register for wired laptop access.

If you also use this laptop for a dialup connection to the Internet, there is an additional step required to set up configuration files for switching back and forth between an Ethernet connection and a dialup modem connection. This configuration is covered in the section Switching Between Bobst and Dialup Connections.

Requirements

To connect your laptop to NYU-NET at Bobst, you need:

• A Macintosh running Mac OS 8.0 or higher, with Open Transport 1.1.2 or higher installed.
  (Note, though, that the instructions you are currently reading are for Mac OS X.) This service is not available for Mac OS versions previous to 8.0. Earlier versions of the Mac OS do not support the type of networking used to connect to NYU-NET from the Bobst laptop usage areas.
• A 10BaseT Ethernet adapter. Network cables are provided at the Bobst Library network ports. There is no need to obtain your own cable.
• An NYU email account, to which registration notification and periodic updates will be sent. NYUHome accounts, supplying email and other services, are available to students in degree or diploma programs and to NYU faculty and staff members. To activate your NYUHome account, you'll need your NYU ID number and your NetID. (Your NetID is usually printed in the lower left corner of your NYUCard.) Next, from any Internet-connected computer, go to http://start.nyu.edu, enter your NetID and current password, and follow the instructions.
• TCP/IP client software, including an up-to-date web browser (Firefox or Safari) and -- optional for NYUHome users -- Thunderbird or Eudora. Antivirus and anti-spyware software are also highly recommended. This is the same set of Internet software used with ResNet and office Ethernet connections to NYU-NET. If you do not yet have them, but already have an Internet connection, you can download them directly from the NYU-NET Software page of this site (NetID and password may be required).

Registration

PLEASE NOTE: If you are registered for ResNet, or have already registered your laptop using the new NYU-NET Registration System, you are automatically registered for wired laptop access and YOU DO NOT NEED TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FORM. Simply follow the configuration instructions below.

To connect to the wired laptop access service, you can register your laptop using the new NYU-NET Registration System. Note that your laptop will need to be connected to NYU-NET via a network jack on campus, via NYURoam wireless, or via a non-NYU Internet Service Provider at the time of registration. If you cannot connect your laptop to NYU-NET, you can register by filling out the online application form from your own computer. (NYU School of Law students: use the Law application form instead.) To access the online form, you will be required to log in with your NYU NetID and password. Please note: You will need to provide the address of the Ethernet card in your laptop (see below for instructions). This number allows the network to identify your computer and grant you access to NYU-NET when you plug in at a network port in the library. If you have any problems completing the process, please call the ITS Client Services Center at 1-212-998-3333. If you prefer, you can apply in person at the ITS Client Services Center (10 Astor Place, 4th Floor, Monday through Friday, 9:00am - 6:00pm); be sure to bring your NYUCard.

Ethernet Address

Your Ethernet address is a unique address associated with your Ethernet card. It consists of six pairs of alphanumeric characters (xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx). To find your Ethernet card address:

1. Open the System Preferences, either from the Apple menu in the top left or from the Dock.
2. Click on Network.
3. From the Show pull-down menu, select Built-In Ethernet.
4. For Mac OS X 10.4 and up: In the Ethernet tab, look for Ethernet ID to learn your Ethernet card address.

   Macintosh OS X 10.4 and up

   For Mac OS X 10.3 and below: In the TCP/IP tab, look for Ethernet Address near the bottom of the window to learn your Ethernet card address.

   Macintosh OS X 10.3 and below

5. Quit the System Preferences (System Prefs menu, then select Quit).

Once your application is processed, you will receive notification by email that your registration is complete. Registration generally takes two business days, slightly longer at the beginning of the semester.

Configure Your Laptop

Configure Networking Software

Note: If you have a ResNet connection, your networking software has already been properly configured. Go on to the next step, Configure Client Applications.

To connect to NYU-NET from the library, you need to configure your networking software to use the DHCP protocol. DHCP is a one-to-many association of your Ethernet card's address to a server-assigned IP address. This protocol allows you to move among multiple connection types with a single computer. Each time you start a session in the library you may be assigned a new IP number, even if you are plugging into the same port.

Once you have configured your networking software to use DHCP, you do not need to reconfigure it to plug in to an office or ResNet connection. If you use a dialup connection, some additional steps are required when switching between a plug-in connection at Bobst and a dial-in connection. The section Switching Between Bobst and Dialup Connections covers these steps.

To configure your networking software, complete these steps:

1. Open the System Preferences, either from the Apple menu (top, left corner) or from the Dock.
2. Click Network.
3. From the Location pull down list, select New Location.
4. Enter a name for the new location (such as "Bobst Library").
5. From the Show pull-down menu, select Built-In Ethernet.
   
6. In the TCP/IP tab, next to Configure IPv4 or Configure, select Using DHCP.
   
    
   
7. In the Proxies tab, check the box next to Web Proxy (HTTP); in the text box, type proxy.nyu.edu, and in the Port field, type 8000.
   
8. Click Apply Now.
9. Quit the System Preferences (System Prefs menu, then select Quit).
10. Click Save to save changes to the network configuration.

Switching Between Bobst Roaming & Dialup Connections

Connecting at the Library uses an Ethernet connection. Dialing in from home uses a PPP connection. You will be able to switch back and forth with relative ease, using the Location Manager:

1. To start using the Bobst Roaming connection, go to the Apple menu (top left corner), select Location, then Bobst Library (or the location name that you used in configuring your networking software).

   Once you have done this, you can use any Internet application (such as Firefox or Safari).

2. To switch back to another connection, go to the Apple menu (top left corner), select Location, then the connection that you want (Automatic may be the only other choice available). This will tell the computer that you are no longer using the Bobst roaming connection, and that you will connect in the usual way (whether you connect using a dialup service or another Internet service provider).

Configure Client Applications

The Bobst Library plug-in ports access the Internet via a proxy server, providing a layer of security for your laptop and for NYU-NET. You can access any material on NYU-NET, including your NYUHome account and NYU Web, without making any adjustments for the proxy. When going beyond NYU-NET, each application handles the proxy a little differently. However, with OS X, if you have set up your network configuration as outlined in the previous section, the appropriate proxy settings should already be in place for your web browser. Should you experience any problems, visit the How Do I Use NYU-NET Proxy? page for more information and instructions.

FTP/SFTP

Once configured, Fetch and Fugu can be used to download and upload files from the Internet and NYU-NET.

Telnet

Telnet is not available with NYUHome service. If you have an NYU account on a machine which is accessible via Telnet, such as i5, we recommend that you connect using a Secure Shell (SSH) client such as Fugu or the Terminal program built into OS X. SSH clients encrypt data, and should always be used to connect to remote machines unless the remote host does not support the SSH protocol.

Email

You can check your NYU Email using NYUHome as well as other email clients such as Eudora (see the NYU Email section for instructions).

Retrieving Non-NYU Mail from Behind the Proxy Server

If you have a non-NYU account (for example, on a commercial ISP), you can check your mail by going directly to their website (for example, http://www.cs.com/, http://aol.com, or http://mail.yahoo.com). If you have an NYU account from which Telnet is still available, you can also telnet to the account and use a host-based mail program, such as pine or elm, to check mail on the non-NYU account.

For more information on the proxy server particularly its other uses refer to the NYU-NET Proxy page of this website. Or, call the ITS Client Services Center, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, weekends from noon to midnight.

Connect to NYU-NET

To connect at Bobst Library, take your laptop to a designated laptop area on floors 2, 4 through 10 and the B-level. If you have configuration files set up for both dialup and NYU Ethernet, switch to the NYU Ethernet configuration. (Go to the Apple menu, select Location, and then Bobst Library or the location name that you used in configuring your networking software). Select Configurations from the File menu. Select NYU Ethernet and click the Make Active button.) Plug one of the network cables provided into your network card. Your Macintosh automatically detects the new network connection. There is no need to reboot your computer.

If you have client applications running (Thunderbird, etc.) you may need to close and reopen these applications for them to register the new connection.

Page last reviewed: January 13, 2008