Seattle Pacific offers both wired and wireless options for connecting personal computers to the campus network and Internet.   It is your responsibility to make sure your personal device does not compromise the resource or other's access.

Wired vs. Wireless

We recommend wireless for simple network usage, but if you are doing things that require high bandwidth (e.g., multimedia downloads (the legal ones)) or are time/latency sensitive (gaming, streaming, etc), connect to via a wired port.

Personally owned wireless access points are not allowed on campus.

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Connecting to the Wired Network

Connecting to the Wireless Network

System Health Requirements
PDAs and WiFi-Capable Cell Phones
Gaming Devices

Connecting to the Wired Network
To connect to the wired network you'll need an Ethernet cable.  Ethernet cables cost around $15 and are available at the campus bookstore and at various computer and office supply stores.  Wired wall jacks are in all residence halls and in many commons areas and classrooms throughout campus.

Getting Connected is easy!

1. Plug it in (both power and ethernet)
2. Open your web browser and navigate to a web page of your choice and refresh the page
3. Log in with your SPU Email Username (without @spu.edu)
4. There is no step 4!

Connecting to the Wireless Network

Wireless can only support about 5% of the bandwidth of a wired connection.  If everyone were to watch YouTube videos or download large files at the same time, the wireless network would quickly reach capacity and your data wouldn't be able to get through.  When possible use an ethernet cable to connect to the network.

To connect to the SPU-Wireless Network:

1. Open your Wireless connection browser
2. Join the SPU-Wireless network.  Similarly named networks may be visible, but likely will not work and should NEVER be used.
3. Enter the network key SPU-Wireless.  This key is case sensitive and identical to the Network Name.
4. Open a web browser and navigate to a new page
5. Enter your SPU Username and password.

SPU-Business (Wireless)

Faculty and staff members with university-owned laptops can take advantage of the SPU-Business network, which provides heightened security and performance over the general use SPU-Wireless resource. Most SPU-managed laptops are configured to connect to the SPU-Business network automatically. Contact the HelpDesk for more information.

SPU-Guest (Wireless)

Officially sponsored campus visitors and guests may be granted temporary access to the SPU-Guest portion of the campus network. Details for requesting a guest account are provided on the SPU Guest policy page.

System Health Requirements
There are four requirements for system device health:

1. Make sure your computer's operating system is patched with the latest security updates provided by the vendor:

   • Windows users should go to the Microsoft Windows Update Site.
   • Apple Macintosh users choose 'Software Update' from the Apple Menu
   • Linux users, go to the distribution center for your specific Linux OS kernel.
2. Run spyware checking utilities to clean your computer of malicious programs.
   • Microsoft Defender is the software of choice for Windows machines.
   • Another popular spyware checker is available for download from LavaSoft Ad-Aware.
3. Ensure your anti-virus software is current with the latest virus definition files.
   • SPU provides McAfee anti-virus software suite to students and employees free-of-charge. Download a copy of McAfee from SPU's secure site: the SPU Download Center.
4. Run a firewall on your computer (again Vista Security Center is strongly recommended for Windows machines.)

Our recommendation: Windows computers should be running 7 Ultimate (available soon from CIS) with the full Windows Security Center Suite enabled. Windows XP is allowed if fully patched. Earlier versions of Windows are not permitted on the campus network.

PDAs and WiFi-Capable Cell Phones
PDA/cellular devices may also connect to the SPU-Wireless network provided they support the WPA-PSK encryption standard and have web browser capabilities (for sign in).

Gaming Consoles (No Web Browser)

If you have a networking device that requires an IP address but does not employ a web browser interface, please use this form to request a manual Medial Access Control (MAC) address override.

The "SPU-Wireless" network is available throughout campus and supports IEEE 802.11 a, b and g network adapters.

Manual Configuration (Wireless)

If you are running proprietary (non-Windows) wireless connection software, you may need to configure the following parameters:

Encryption system:
Personal WPA-PSK (RC4 128-bit stream cypher)
with TKIP (integrity protocol).
SSID: SPU-Wireless
PSK: SPU-Wireless

After connecting to "SPU-Wireless" you will need to login to the SPU network as described above.

Wireless Signal Strength and Interference

Wireless connectivity can be a tricky thing since so many factors go into maintaining a strong and reliable connection. If you are experiencing weak or intermittent wireless performance, try

repositioning your laptop or sitting in a different location.

We are continually working to expand and enhance wireless network coverage. If you are in an area with seemingly bad wireless coverage, please report this to the CIS Help Desk (206-281-2982) so that we can make improvements.