Campusnet: Internet facilities for campus residents and ITC hotel

As of 7 October 2024, changes will take effect for the UT Campusnet internet facilities at Plaza. The current LISA Campusnet IT support will cease to exist and the current UT network facilities will be dismantled. The support for the new Plaza network facilities and related IT topics will be taken over by Ittdesk and Plaza.

Due to this change in support and facilities the current need and usage of UT X-accounts will cease to exist. Plaza will provide residents with new ways of connecting/logging in to the Plaza PPSK Wi-Fi network. If you are currently paying for an UT X-account; this X-account contract will remain active until the signed term has finished. This page will give some more clarity on what this will mean for current and future Plaza residents.

As a De Veste resident, you have

• In general, access to UT Wi-Fi networks like Eduroam (exceptions possible)
• A wired connection in the rooms (exceptions possible)
• Options to connect your own Wifi router

You can apply for a guest account (x account) if you do not have a student or employee account. For more details on these topics, see the services section below.

As a Drienerburght resident, you have

• Access to UT Wi-Fi networks like Eduroam
• A wired connection in the rooms
• Options to connect your own Wifi router

 For more details on these topics, see the services section below.

As a ITC hotel resident you have

• Access to UT Wi-Fi networks like Eduroam
• A wired connection in the rooms
• Options to connect your own Wifi router

You can apply for a guest account (x account) if you do not have a student or employee account. For more details on these topics, see the services section below.

As a Prottel resident you have

• Access to UT Wi-Fi networks like Eduroam
• An own router
• 3 wired connections available through your router
• Options to connect your own Wifi router

You can apply for a guest account (x account) if you do not have a student or employee account. For more details on these topics, see the services section below.

UT students and employees can use the eduroam Wi-Fi network at Plaza (provided by ittdesk). 

NOTE: services that are available through eduroam on campus without a VPN will need a VPN connection if used by the Plaza supplied eduroam connection.

Other facilities or access for non-students/non-employees are available through plazaresidentservices.com. Plaza residents cannot apply for a UT guest account (x-account).

Internet facilities (wired and Wi-Fi) are available for employee housing (houses that have been sold to employees); see the FTTH information in the service section below.

For server facilities on campusnet see the COLO information in the Service section below.

At UT there are three Wi-Fi networks available: eduroam, Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu and UThings.

EDUROAM

Students and employees can log on to the eduroam Wi-Fi network using their UT credentials. The eduroam Wi-Fi network is an international initiative that is available at a large number of universities and schools/high schools around the world. With a student or staff account of one of the participating institutions you can log on to all eduroam networks all over the world. Eduroam is also available at various educational institutions in Enschede (Saxion, Artez, some secondary schools). See eduroam.nl for details.

In order to connect to the eduroam Wi-Fi network a valid UT account is needed. There are multiple options to connect to eduroam:

1. UT Credentials (M-/S-Account): In order to connect to the eduroam using UT credentials (Employees account: m-account & Student account: s-account) login with your full email address as username and the corresponding password. This will provide you eduroam access in all UT buildings. Note that signal strength will vary depending on the location.
2. Eduroam Visitor account (EVA):  An eduroam guest account provides temporary eduroam Wi-Fi guest access for UT guests. EVA accounts can be created by UT employees. Once an EVA guest account has been created it will grant guests temporary access to the eduroam network. For more information see eva.eduroam.nl.
3. UT X-account
   A more permanent guest account (x-account) can be requested by UT employees at selfservice.utwente.nl > Order services > Authorisation and will provide eduroam Wi-Fi access for a longer period of time as well as access to various other services.

ENSCHEDE_STAD_VAN_NU GUEST NETWORK

The Wi-Fi network Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu is a Wi-Fi network of the municipality of Enschede that is freely available at various places in the city of Enschede. It is an open network that is not secured and has limited capacity. It is intended for occasional guest use without an account. It is not maintained by or associated with UT. Due to this UT/LISA doesn't support incidents and/or questions related to this Wi-Fi network.

UTHINGS (FOR SMART DEVICES)

A separate wireless network has been set up specifically for Smart Devices and Internet of Things applications: "UThings". The preferred network for wireless connections is still eduroam. However, there are devices that cannot handle the security settings that are used on that network. For the average "smart refrigerator" it is usually impossible to connect to a WPA2-Enterprise protected wireless network.

Access to the UThings network is provided on a per-device basis. You can register the devices you want to connect by contacting the ICT Service Desk. You will need to provide the wireless MAC address of your device to be able to complete registration. The ICT Service Desk can be contacted by email at servicedesk-ict@utwente.nl or by telephone at (+31 53 489) 5577.

SRN stands for “Selfservice Registration Portal for Network Devices” and provides wired connection devices access to Campusnet.  

Every device that is directly connected to the Campusnet by a network cable needs to be registered first. The registration of the network equipment is done using the wired/ethernet MAC address of the connected device. Registration can easily be done online in SRN at webapps.utwente.nl/srn, which is also available using a cable when your device is not yet registered.

Please note that registration is only required for wired connections; if you connect to the wireless network (eduroam), you do not have to register your MAC address. Also, make sure that you register the correct address. A common mistake is that the wireless MAC address is registered.

Most student rooms have access to the eduroam wireless network. If you (need to) use your own wireless router in case the eduroam is not available, we would like to point out a few important rules about the configuration of private networks, so everyone is able to use the internet without any problems.

Settings for your own router:

• Use the WAN port to connect your router to the wall outlet in your room (in most cases, the right socket will have a signal). The LAN ports are for your own devices, do not connect them to the wall outlet!
• Change the default password of the router and of your own Wi-Fi network.
• Change the default name of your own Wi-Fi network.
• If you do not have any Wi-Fi devices, turn off the Wi-Fi signal of your router.

Configuration of your Wi-Fi:

• If possible, switch off the 2,4GHz signal (only if all your devices support 5GHz).
• Do not use channel-bonding (on either the 2,4 or 5GHz channels).
• For 2,4GHz: only use fixed channels 1, 6, or 11 (do not use auto-channel selection).
• For 5GHz: set the bandwidth on 20MHz channels.
• For 5Ghz: choose the correct country (NL) and use the auto-channel select there.
• Lower your signal strength, maximum power is not necessary for your room.

Considerations:

• Preferably do not use a router if you don't have to.
• Remember to keep your router up-to-date. Occasionally check for firmware upgrades!
• Use strong passwords (both for your admin account as for your Wi-Fi network).

For Campusnet support, Library, IT Services & Archive (LISA) is responsible for the incoming network signal up to the outlet in, for example, a (student) room. Generally, we supply one active network connection.

Connected (own) equipment to an outlet in a (student) room is the responsibility of the resident.

LISA is increasingly making use of a so-called room access point in a lot of locations. This is a small access point to serve a limited number of users in the student housing. They are usually placed over the existing outlet. As far as Wi-Fi is concerned, they are identical to the Wi-Fi present in educational buildings for eduroam, UThings, and Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu.

They also include some LAN ports to connect wired connections. The grey port (Pass-through) is not in use. The other ports LAN1 to LAN3 can be used, while the green port (PSE-LAN1) has limited Power over Ethernet functionality. The configuration is very different to regular switch ports, but the ports are on the same network as other ports on residents' campus network.

Room access points are widely used in the following locations:

• Drienerburght
• ITC Hotel
• Pröttel (Container homes Witbreuksweg 369-371-373-375)

In addition to the above, they are occassionally used in locations elsewhere within student housing as a test to solve coverage in particular in corners. The intention is to use these test results in an upcoming replacement project to redesign the Wi-Fi in order to create better coverage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PER HOUSING LOCATION

De Veste

De Veste is the largest student rental association on the campus. The various districts all have their own unique design and construction. For internet connectivity LISA generally supplies one active network connection. Wi-Fi coverage (eduroam, Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu, and UThings) is provided on a best effort basis and may vary with district and/or room situation.

Plaza

The wired network at Plaza is not provided by UT but by Plaza itself. Please see plazaresidentservices.com for more information. The wireless networks Eduroam (provided by ittdesk) is available throughout the Plaza building for UT students and employees. If you are not a UT student or employee, check plazaresidentservices.com for information on getting access to the Plaza wireless networks. Note: For several services (e.g. network shares, printers) at the UT you do not need a VPN connection when connected to eduroam, however If you are connected to the Plaza eduroam connection, you will need a VPN connection.

ITC Hotel

Eduroam, Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu, and UThings are available throughout the ITC Hotel. Each room has one wired connection, and one out of three rooms have a so-called room access point. For information regarding networks in the ITC Hotel, refer to the ABC Guide: https://www.itc.nl/intranet/support/iih/documents/iih-abc.pdf

Pröttel (Container homes) Witbreuksweg

All Pröttel (Container homes) are equipped with a wired network connection in the meter cupboard, to which a room Wi-Fi router is connected.

This router provides three wireless networks: eduroam, Enschede_Stad_Van_Nu and UThings, furthermore there are three wired network ports available.

Residents who live on De Achterhorst, Reelaan, Drienerbeeklaan and Langenkampweg on the campus are able to request an internet connection by fiber optic cable, called Fiber to the Home (FTTH); then LISA can activate this connection. See utwente.nl/ftth for details.

Campusnet is one of the services that is being monitored by CERT-UT (the Computer Emergency Response Team of the University of Twente). In the case of IT security incidents, devices that are connected to Campusnet can be quarantined. In that case any connection with Campusnet will be blocked until the issue has been resolved and the blockage has been lifted by CERT-UT.

The CERT-UT team consists of IT professionals from Library, IT Services & Archive (LISA). CERT-UT investigate all reports in the field of computer security and privacy and engage the necessary (technical) specialists to solve an incident. When a report has a privacy aspect, CERT-UT works directly with the Privacy Contact Person (PCP) of the specific department.

If a device has been placed in quarantine the best action is to contact CERT-UT. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) can be contacted at cert@utwente.nl or by telephone at (+31 53 489) 1313.

UT offers a colocation (COLO) service for servers. In order to make an appointment for physical access to a COLO server, an email can be send to noc@utwente.nl.

Please state the following information in your email:

• Name
• Name study association (If relevant)
• Reason for visit
• Desired date / time
• Personal contact details (Phone number, email address)

Please note: 

• This information does not apply for UT students or UT employees.
• This information does not apply to Plaza residents (see plazaresidentservices.com on how to get Internet access if you have no UT student or employee account.)

You can apply for a UT x-account when you live in one of the UT campus accommodations. This service is free of charge. A UT x-account can be used to for instance login at the eduroam Wi-Fi network or register hardware devices that are connected through cable at SRN.

In order to request your UT x-account we will first need to verify that you are indeed living on the premise.

Please send the following information to servicedesk-ict@utwente.nl:

• Proof of signed contract: a passage of the contract where it clearly states the address and your name.
• Proof of payment: screenshot of the latest rental costs payment.
• Information about your situation: name, address and how long you expect to rent the apartment.

Once you have sent this information, the x-account will be created, and you will receive the account details by e-mail.

The 1st generation had COAX and 10 Mbps hubs, in 1999 UTP switched up to 100 Mbit (2nd generation). At the time, this was “the fastest home network in the world”. From 2003, the first eduroam Wi-Fi came online, and UT was connected as one of the pioneers. In 2012-2013 the switching equipment was replaced by the 3rd generation and 1 Gbit has become the standard (where possible). The Box and Sky were also built during this period and the ITC Hotel was connected.

Although gigabit was already becoming more standard, it was once again one of the fastest home networks in the world (especially since we built and maintained it ourselves, unlike a Google-sponsored university in America). This was followed in 2014 by a replacement of the Wi-Fi access points. In 2020-2021 the switching equipment was replaced for the 4th generation of the current Campusnet, which has since grown further thanks to Plaza / Campus 053 (Former Camelot) tenants and Drienerburght. In addition, Library, IT Services & Archive (LISA) also provides ISP network connections (Fiber To The Home) to employee homes located on the UT terrain.

Almost 25 years after the establishment of SNT, the contract with SNT for support through the SNT Helpdesk was cancelled by LISA in March 2020 and all these tasks were taken over by LISA CS.

This website will give more insight into the UT network facilities and also provides information about how common issues can be resolved and network related services can be requested.