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Network registration

Overview

Yale requires that all equipment utilizing the University data network be registered and that the registration information be associated with either the owner or primary user of the equipment. ITS enforces this policy by controlling access to usable Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. In order to get a legitimate IP address, you have to register the machine. When ITS provides an IP address, we collect the hardware address --sometimes called the Machine Access Code (MAC) or Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA)-- of either the wireless card or the ethernet card. If you are connecting via Wireless and via your ethernet cord (at different times), you would have to register both of these MAC addresses for the same machine. This system ensures accountability and helps ITS to provide better service for

all the community, but in order to streamline the transaction, we provide tools to minimize the burden of registering your machine.

If you are a faculty or staff member you may either contact your primary support provider (or the ITS Help Desk) to assist in the timely registration of your equipment. For students or those wishing to assist University guests in their access to the network, please read on!

Net registration for students

Students are obliged to register their computers once a year (typically in the Fall) during their stay at Yale. This serves several purposes:

• The student is given an opportunity to update the inventory of equipment they are using at the University.
• The addressing information vended to a student can be optimized to reflect a new primary dwelling (e.g. moving from Old Campus to a residential college).
• The student is given a chance to review the Yale network Appropriate Use policy and assure that they continue to be in compliance.

In order to register a computer, the central campus student will go to our automated network registration page and answer some simple questions about their primary housing location as well as the MAC and/or EHA address of their computer. As this last piece of information is not commonly known to the average user, the application attempts to auto-detect the MAC address of the current machine (assuming you are registering the machine you are currently using).

Medical campus students in Harkness can use this network registration tool instead.

For those of you paying attention, the above statement might suggest a "chicken/egg" conundrum. One might ask, "If I can't use the network until I register my computer, how can I possibly use the network for the purposes of registering my computer?" The answer is that some parts of campus allow access to certain campus resources (including Network registration). After registration, the University will vend you an IP address that is capable communication with the entire internet.

Guest registration

To assist in the registration of guests, ITS created the application known as "GuestReg". Note that while NetReg is targeted primarily at the student population, anyone with a valid Yale netid can gain value from GuestReg.

GuestReg can be accessed here. To use GuestReg you have to first establish a "conference". This is simply a bound period of time (measured in days) when you will be "hosting" guests. You may create more than one conference. You then invite individuals to the conference via email invitation. By clicking on this link in this invitation, the user can walk through the registration process from off-campus before arriving. After that, their computer will be recognized (for the duration of the conference) as "registered" and they will have full access to the campus network. It is important to encourage guests to register their computing device prior to arriving at Yale.

Because there are only a few places on campus that allow non-registered guests to register their computer on campus, it is preferable to encourage your guests to register prior to their arrival. In order to address this and other identified improvements, GuestReg is in the process of gaining some feature enhancements. Along with coordinate developments to the campus network infrastructure, the utility of GuestReg is expected to improve over the coming months. Stay tuned for further announcements from ITS.