University of Oxford Visitor Network

Notes for visitors, from Magdalen College

If you are a Magdalen visitor staying in our accommodation and have brought your own computer, you can access the Internet from your room using a wired Ethernet connection, or from a few areas of Magdalen using wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi).

Note that this does not apply to members of the public visiting Magdalen as tourists.

Wired Ethernet

For a wired connection, your computer will need a wired Ethernet socket.

You will be provided with an Ethernet lead. If you have not received an Ethernet lead, you can pick one up from your conference or summer school organiser, or from the Home Bursary. Please use the provided lead instead of any lead that you may already have, as other leads may not work. Please return the lead at the end of your stay.

The wired connection will work from any socket that has been designated for visitor access, which will include the one in your room and the sockets in any other visitor rooms if you are here as part of a group. Every accommodation room has an Ethernet socket.

When you connect to wired Ethernet, you will need to run a web browser and when prompted type in the username and password provided to you on the sheet headed "Oxford University Computing Services – University of Oxford Visitor Network".

Wireless Ethernet

For wireless, your computer will need Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n capability.

Wireless is only available in a few areas of College. The network is expanding but at the time of writing covers:

  • The Old Kitchen Bar; Grove Auditorium; Lecture Room A and Old Law Library; Summer Common Room; Daubeny Building

In particular, wireless is not available in most accommodation areas. You should not attempt to plug in your own Wireless Access Point into a wired Ethernet socket.

There are two wireless networks, "eduroam" and "OWL" (Oxford Wireless LAN).

"eduroam" is a wireless network used by many Universities around the world, so if you already have an eduroam username and password from your home institution and if your computer has already been setup for eduroam, then you may be able to use that. You obtain your eduroam username and password from your home institution, if they are part of the eduroam federation, and Magdalen College cannot help with that.

If you don't have an eduroam username and password then you should connect to the "OWL" wireless network, run a web browser, and when prompted type in the username and password provided to you on the sheet headed "Oxford University Computing Services – University of Oxford Visitor Network".

Security and safety

  • It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer can safely plug into a UK mains socket, maybe by using an adapter
  • It is your responsibility to keep your computer secure, such as by having up-to-date anti-virus software, by keeping your computer operating system up-to-date (for example, by using Windows Update), and having a firewall
  • When using OWL, note that this is an unencrypted network, so you should use secure access (e.g. https or VPN) to access private resources such as email
  • The username and password provided to you are for your use only. You will be held responsible for any Internet activity or misuse accessed via your username and password
  • Keep hold of the paper with the username and password, as you will be prompted for the details after 10 hours or so
  • Please see the piece of paper from Oxford University Computing Services for more information about the service and what is allowed

Setting up, troubleshooting, and support

If you find that you cannot make a wired Ethernet connection straight away then you may need to tweak some of your computer's settings, especially if you have previously connected your computer to another Ethernet network or used dial-up Internet access. Your computer's Ethernet settings will need to be set to ‘Obtain an IP address automatically’, which is also known as ‘DHCP’. You also need to make sure your computer is not trying to use a ‘proxy server’.

If your computer still does not work then you should double-check that the Ethernet lead is firmly plugged into both your computer and the wall socket. The lead should ‘click’ into the socket both ends. You can obtain another Ethernet lead if you think your one is faulty. If you are able to try your computer in another visitor's room Ethernet socket, that will help determine whether the fault is with your computer or with the wall socket.

The College is not able to offer support for the setup or use of your computer, other than providing the instructions above. If the fault is determined to be in your wall socket then the College will attempt to fix it, although no timescales are guaranteed.