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Network connections

A pre-requisite for any networked machine is to have a functioning network socket, or access to a departmental wireless access point (N.B. wireless access should be available everywhere in the Department. If you find a spot where you cannot see the ChemNet wireless network please let the Computer Officers know where that is.)  If you need a network socket made live, please email support@ch.cam.ac.uk with the room number and the label on the socket. Once you have a functioning network connection, you or your group IT representative can connect machines.

Personal laptops with wired connections

If you want to place a personal laptop onto the wired network and you already have access to a free live network socket then collect your personal ChemNet token and follow the Wired ChemNet instructions to configure it on your machine.

If this doesn't seem to be working then make sure your machine is set to DHCP (it may be called something like 'automatically get an IP address') and you are using a live network socket. If it still doesn't work, mail support@ch.cam.ac.uk letting us know your username, your computer's mac address, and any error messages you see.

Wireless access

There is a Department-wide wireless network which can be used by all registered members of the Department. Please follow the instructions on setting up Wireless ChemNet if you wish to use this wireless network.

Visitors from other academic institutions may also be able to connect to the eduroam wireless network - you may need to liaise with the IT staff at your institution before arriving in Cambridge to set this up.

If you a short-term visitor who does not have eduroam access, you can also use the UniOfCam-Guest wireless network.

Desktops / Servers / Shared machines with wired connections

If you wish to place a desktop, server, or other shared machine on the wired network, please get your group IT representative or a computer officer to plug the machine in, start up a web browser, and follow the on-screen instructions to register the machine as a shared machine. There is more detail at Shared Wired ChemNet Instructions.

Shared machines often stay in the department longer than the person who originally registered them. The Computer Officers support@ch.cam.ac.uk should be informed if there are changes to a shared computer's details (it moves, the network card is upgraded, the owner changes, etc.) so that we can find it and or contact the right person in case of problems with it.

IP addresses

We use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) in this Department to assign IP addresses (particularly to laptops). Shared machines will normally be assigned the same IP address every time they connect, but this is not guaranteed as we sometimes need to reassign addresses to make efficient use of the available address space.

If you are unsure how to configure your machine(s) correctly please contact the Computer Officers.

System status 

System monitoring page

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