Huntsman wireless falters from added use

Huntsman Hall does not have the wireless Internet capacity to meet increasing demand -- and students are paying the penalty.

Increased use of the building's wireless network has resulted in difficulty connecting and slow connections in recent days, and administrators have hastily improvised a solution.

Wharton School Chief Information Officer Deirdre Woods said that Wharton computing officials first detected an issue with the wireless network late last week.

The problem was confirmed after several students contacted the Wharton Computing and Information Technology Department's consulting office to complain about difficulties accessing the network.

Woods said the problem stems from high usage rates.

"Problems are occurring because the capacity of our wireless service is less than the demand," she said, adding that a maximum of 350 students can access the wireless network at the same time.

Wharton freshman Simran Bhatia said the problem is definitely noticeable.

"Wireless in Huntsman has been a real hassle over the last couple of days," Bhatia said. "It's difficult to access and sometimes cuts off in the middle. I know a lot of people that have had problems."

As a short-term solution to the problem, the wireless access point used in Huntsman has been isolated so that it cannot be accessed by users in other locations.

Typically, this network extends to buildings such as Steinberg-Dietrich and Vance halls, where usage is lower.

Woods said that this has redistributing the users of Wharton wireless more efficiently -- and the strain on Huntsman has eased considerably since.

Professors who teach in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall said they have not noticed any changes.

"I have not experienced any problem in the past week," Operations Information Management professor Balaji Padmanabhan said. "At work, often I use my Ethernet connection directly. ... I do use the wireless network when I'm taking my laptop out, but I don't recall having any problems."

Woods said that Wharton has never experienced a problem with its wireless network in the past, though demand has been rising steadily in recent years.

"Every year, more students have more wireless devices that access the network," she said. "The strain on the network is especially high at this time of year."

Woods added that computing officials will continue to closely monitor the network to ensure that there are no further problems.

"We are going to a keep a really tight eye on it," she said. "It's a stressful time for students and we want to help alleviate rather than add to their stress."

Plans for a more extensive upgrade to the Wharton wireless infrastructure are also in the works, according to Woods.

"We will be, at some point, upgrading our wireless access points totally," she said. "That will be a big job."

However, Woods said that she preferred not to implement such an upgrade during the semester in order to avoid a disruption in wireless access.

"We want to make sure we do this when it is the least inconvenient to students," she said. "If we can solve our problems throughout this semester with less disruptive short term solutions, then I would prefer to do that."

Wharton officials are not the only ones focusing on such initiatives.

Last month, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced a $700,000 plan to extend wireless Internet access to every dorm room in each of the 11 College Houses.

The system is expected is to be in place by the beginning of the fall 2006 semester.

Comments (3)

Oh please College student, get a grip. Go look at the plaques around Van Pelt, College Hall, Houston, Student Health, ETC. and notice all the names that end with W'year. Did you know the W stands for Wharton? I bet you didn't because you're a typical ignorant College student whose salary 5 years down the road will be trumped by one good day of trading. Furthermore, you can take that aristocratic bullshit argument away. Go to Van Pelt and look at all the snotty bitches sporting D&G; and reading Kant, I bet you they're not in Wharton, and I bet you they DID go to those preppy ass boarding schools you speak so highly of. College, not Wharton student obviously has some self-image issues if you are so bothered by seemingly Whartonesque clothing, love, and lack of originality. Oh wait, aren't you the guy who's majoring in psych? Or econ? wow, original one there. I agree completely with Wharton, not Penn student. Simply put, study rooms are meant for Wharton classes because they're for group use. I've seen countless instances where people are doing history or philosophy work and it's just a complete disregard for others. So College, not Wharton student, I'm sure you'll have a faithful marriage and I won't worry about your originality of clothing because you can make your own, after all, you do go to the school of arts and crafts. Kevin, Your Boss Huntsman

The problem with the wireless in Huntsman, in fact studying during finals in general, is the hoards of unwashed College, Engineering, and Nursing students that flood the building. Like a swarm of locusts, they devour our food at ABP, fill up our common areas, the study lounges, and inundate the wireless systems with traffic. Sometimes they take a business policy minor and receive an @wharton email address so they can reserve study rooms for polite discussions about Descartes or Wordsworth with their artsy friends. The solution: after 7 PM when Penn cards are checked, only real Wharton students may enter the building. Change the wireless so only Wharton passwords allow access. Every other building on campus is open for the arts and crafts majors, let them study anywhere but Huntsman! Wharton, not Penn student, master of the universe, in training Huntsman Hall

Great idea "Wharton, not Penn student," but just to be fair, let's ban all Wharton students from college classes, Van Pelt library, student housing, College Green, Houston Hall, Student Health and HUP, Franklin Field and the Palestra and any other building, facility or open space not paid for by Huntsman, Steinberg or Dietrich. I'm sick and tired of Wharton upperclassmen, desperate to find some small amount of meaning in their pitiful lives, invading my humanities and social science classes. Moreover, the stench of sulfur and brimstone that soul-less Whartonites leaves in their wake is really difficult to get out of the carpet and furniture. So please, in the four years you spend at Penn -- that is, the four years in between the time you spent getting gentleman's B's and snorting coke at the boarding school your parents sent you to because they knew your real father was the pool boy and the rest of your life that you will spend enslaved to corporate masters in a string of loveless marriages because you long ago forgot how to feel or really do anything other than add dollars and cents -- please, please lock your Lacoste-wearing, triple-popped-collar, copied-my-entire-existence-from-the-OC-because-i-have-no-originality-or-imagination, pathetic excuse for a self away in the edifice to greed, gluttony, and sin that you call "Huntsman Hall." We don't want you, it, or the wireless you are so desperate to hoard. Please go away now. I've already spent far more time on this post than you are worth. College, not Wharton student, Keeping my soul Not Huntsman Hall

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