Getting an Ethernet Card

If you need to buy an ethernet card for your computer, we recommend the 3Com EtherLink 10/100 card for PCs (model 3C905B or 3C905C). Most Macs already have an ethernet card built in, but if you need one, we suggest buying it from Apple and not a third party vendor. The 3Com card will very rarely cause any problems, and you can get one for around $60 or so at Best Buy or Microcenter. If you're feeling adventurous you can get them online for $50 or less through sites like [http://www.buy.com] or [http://www.pricescan.com]. Other (sometimes less expensive) brands include Intel, Linksys, and Xircom, which tend to work well. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact the CCA's at problem[at]rice[dot]edu.

Connecting to the Ethernet Ports

You will need to connect your computer's network card to one of the two Ethernet ports in your room. (The ports look like white phone jacks but are slightly larger.) Use an "RJ-45" ethernet cable to connect your computer's network card to the port on the wall. You can get a cable at the campus store or at any store that carries computer parts.

Configuring Your Computer

You will need to set up your computer to use DHCP to connect to the network. This process varies between different types of computers. Windows From the Control Panel, open the Network icon. In the Network Properties window, you should see a list of components. If the list does not contain an entry for TCP/IP, you'll need to add it. Click on the "Add" button and choose "Protocol", and then select the TCP/IP protocol to install. Once you have TCP/IP in your list of components, highlight it and click on "Properties". (If there are multiple entries with TCP/IP, choose the one for your network card, which is usually 3Com.) Under the IP Address tab, select "Obtain IP Address Automatically". Under the DNS Configuration tab, select either "Disable DNS" or "Obtain DNS Server Automatically", depending on your version of Windows. (Both do the same thing-- just bad wording on Microsoft's part.) Click OK to close the windows, and reboot the computer when prompted. Note that these settings look slightly different in different versions of Windows, but all amount to essentially the same thing. Mac From the Apple Menu, choose Control Panels and then TCP/IP. Select "Ethernet built-in" and "DHCP" from the top two drop down boxes. Close the window and you should be ready to go-- just open a web browser and try [http://www.rice.edu]. Feel free to contact us at problem[at]rice[dot]edu if you have any problems during the setup-- we're happy to help out.