Network Overview

The Office of Technology operates a campus-wide network providing high-speed access to university services, as well as the internet and various research networks. Our network core consists of two fully redundant nodes located in separate on-campus data centers and connected by multiple 10Gbps links. Each building is connected to the network core with redundant 10Gbps links to ensure the fastest possible speeds for approximately 16,000 ports of at least gigabit ethernet and 2,000 wireless access points across campus. Redundant border routers facilitate connectivity to internet and research networks using multiple providers totaling 20Gbps of capacity.

Bloomsburg University also serves as an access node for PennREN (Pennsylvania Research and Education Network), a statewide network managed by KINBER for providing connectivity to universities, colleges, K-12 schools, health-care organizations, libraries, public media organizations, government, and non-profits.

Wireless Access

A state-of-the-art 802.11a/g/n/ac Wi-Fi network is available in academic, administrative, and residential buildings, in addition to select outdoor locations.

Wireless networks operated by the Office of Technology:

bloomu-secure: The preferred wireless network for faculty, staff, and students, providing encryption to protect your data from eavesdropping.
bloomu: For use by guests and any devices unable to support encryption.

To ensure the best possible performance of official university services, personal wireless access points and wireless routers are not permitted. If network personnel determine that a rogue wireless device is the source of interference, it will be disabled and removed from the university network.

More Information

Residential Internet Access

In addition to providing network services for academic and administrative buildings, the Office of Technology also manages network infrastructure in all residential buildings operated by the Office of Residence Life. Internet access in residential areas is available at speeds up to 100Mbps.

Wi-Fi is available in all residential buildings at no additional cost. We recommend using devices capable of supporting Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) for the best performance.

Wired network access is available for a fee. To request wired access, submit a Wired Network Connection Request to the Office of Residence Life.

Personal wireless access points and wireless routers will interfere with university-operated Wi-Fi and are not permitted in residential buildings. Other wireless devices such as speakers, game controllers, cameras, printers, and bluetooth devices will interfere with Wi-Fi and should be avoided.

Services

Domain Name Server (DNS)

The Office of Technology operates DNS servers for name resolution and hosting university domains.

Clients connected to the campus network will automatically use the DNS servers operated by the Office of Technology. Access to other DNS servers from the campus network is not permitted for security purposes.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

The Office of Technology operates multiple redundant DHCP servers which automatically assign IP addresses to network clients.

All clients are required to use DHCP — manually addressing clients is not allowed. If a static address is required for university equipment, a reservation can be requested.

Firewall

The Office of Technology operates a firewall to protect university systems from malicious and unauthorized access.

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

The Office of Technology operates multiple NTP servers synchronized to the Global Positioning System (GPS) to serve time to on-campus clients.

Remote Access Service (VPN)

The Office of Technology operates a VPN service for remote access to university services.

Using the VPN isn't required for accessing all services from off-campus, however, some are restricted. It is recommended to always use the VPN while accessing university services from off-campus for the most secure connection.