I’d be happy to set my device to passthrough mode, but I think the ISP prevents peer-to-peer connections (which my laptop would make to the VR headset) unless you buy one of their plans for Chromecast/smart TVs. Would that prevent it from working? And would I still be able to connect multiplw devices despite their one-device limit?
Comment on Student dorm does not allow wifi routers
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Not all that surprising. I don’t know of any network manager who’d happily allow rogue routers on their network, particularly if you still have it configured as a DHCP device and not a pass through device, which most college students do not consider and will very much disrupt campus network performance.
mat@linux.community 2 months ago
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
It’s hard to say without knowing all the details of how the college configures their network. Back when I was in college, I had a student job with the campus’ IT department, and students running into issues getting all their devices connected was a regular issue at the start of every year.
The main problem with most college networks is that you’ve typically got an enterprise setup that’s also having to double as home internet service for those living on campus. Depending on when the network was built it was likely only planning for students to have a laptop, maybe a desktop too, as opposed to modern times when just about every electronic device has an internet connection.
Some things just may not work like they did at home.
mat@linux.community 2 months ago
That’s fair yeah. In my case the dorms are a separate unrelated company from the uni (they just have a partnership) and the ISP is yet another third party that did the install and sells extras to each student. I think it’s pretty scummy since I read my whole dorm contract and it never said this would be a condition to the “free fast wifi” access.
Lojcs@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Is there a limit to the number of devices allowed to connect that this rule is trying to enforce?
Either way, if the vr headset doesn’t need internet connection you could connect your computer to the internet wirelessly and to your own router via cable for vr.
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Eww, yeah, that sounds like a crappy setup to milk more money from students with no other option - especially if you’ve got student aid requiring you to live in school housing.
You may want to see about getting your own wireless carrier internet service. Not the best solution, but at least it would be yours and unrestricted.
Lojcs@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Why does the dhcp on the router affect the main network? I’d think that way it only needs to deal with the router, as opposed to all the devices connected to the router if it’s passthrough?
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Ah! I just saw you specified if it’s configured for pass through. If it is configured for pass through, then yeah it likely won’t cause issues on the network. The DHCP server is the critical bit.
From a network management perspective, though, they still won’t want these because you have to trust all these college students are going to properly configure their devices - most of them won’t know how and won’t bother figuring it out. And then you still have the issue of a bunch of unmanaged access points to your network, which is just poor security.
nomous@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeah a simple little unmanaged switch would solve all these issues for about $20 and probably wouldn’t break the ToS.
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Yeah. I think OP’s issue is they may have a few devices that are wireless only. Not sure of the best way to handle those.
Lojcs@lemm.ee 2 months ago
I didn’t, that’s just bad grammar. Edited the comment
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Because that router will be broadcasting DHCP signals and offering IPs, conflicting with the authorized DHCP servers on the network. This wiki article will probably explain it better. I’m not so good with the words a such.
bamboo@lemm.ee 2 months ago
A consumer router only operates DHCP on the LAN side. Presumably one would plug the WAN side into the university network, making this a non-issue.
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Some of my other replies address that. Worked in IT on a college campus, and every class will have at least a few clueless users who just plug the cables into the LAN ports.
Lojcs@lemm.ee 2 months ago
I don’t know much about networking but that page seems to be about someone else setting up a dhcp server without the knowledge of the administrators or the users. In op’s case the concerns about mitm attacks don’t apply and the other concerns sound like problems that could arise in cases of misconfiguration. I also couldn’t see anything about it affecting the main network’s performance
Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
I mean, it’s all right there in the first two paragraphs. Keep in mind that by DHCP server we aren’t talking about something specifically set up by people with malicious intent. A home router is a DHCP server when not configured for pass through. Students who don’t know how routers actually work (we can’t all be IT nerds, lol) plug them into their dorm Ethernet jack, and now you’ve got an unauthorized device offering IP addresses that conflict with the authorized DHCP servers, which can quickly start causing issues with any new devices trying to connect to the network, and existing devices as their DHCP leases expire. Also keep in mind that we’re talking about a college network that will likely have local network resources for students like shared drives that would not be accessible to anyone connecting through the rogue device. Your IT department will quickly start getting complaints about the network that are caused by an access point you have no control over.