What you need to connect to the BC Wired Network

BC Faculty, Students, Staff and Affiliates:

• You must be on campus in an area with access to a network wall jack.
• Your BC username and password
• Computer must meet minimum specifications (including an Ethernet network adapter)
• BC's McAfee Anti-Virus software at bc.edu/virus
• Ethernet cable (see below for details)

Visitors:

• You must be on campus in an area with access to an Ethernet network wall jack. All residence hall rooms have an Ethernet network jack. Most conference rooms and classrooms have an Ethernet network jack. Confirm with your host that a network jack will be available for use.
• Ethernet network cable.

Step 1: Physical Set-up

Plug your computer into the BC network using an Ethernet cable:

Step 1: Physical Set-up

Plug your computer into the BC network using an Ethernet cable:

1. Plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the Ethernet jack on your computer (see Figure 1)

   
   

   • An Ethernet cable looks similar to a phone cable, but the ends are wider. If you do not have an Ethernet cable they are available for purchase at the BC Bookstore.
   • The Ethernet jack looks like a large phone jack and is usually on the back or side of your computer.
     
     
     Figure 1.
     
2. Find the wall jack in your office, lab, or residence hall room. Plug the other end of the Ethernet cable into the network jack (below the picture of a computer) (see Figure 2).
   
   
   • Once you activate your computer in one network jack, you will be able to access the network from any network jack on campus.
     
     
     Figure 2.

Step 2: Configure and enable the wired network connection

Important: If you connect using the wired jack in your room or office, disable the wireless connection.

1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel (in the Classic view select Settings and then Control Panel from the pop-up menu).
   
   Note: Click on the Switch to Classic View link if displayed in the left pane of the Control panel (see Figure 3).
   
   
   Figure 3.
2. Double click on the Network Connections icon.
   
   
   
3. The Network Connections window will display a list of network connections available for your computer under the heading LAN or High-Speed Internet.
4. If you see a Wireless Network Connection icon, right-click on it and choose Disable from the pull-down menu to assure you will be activating the wired interface (see Figure 4).
   
   
   Figure 4.
5. Configure the Local Area Connection for wired access at Boston College. In the Network Connections control panel window, right-click on the Local Area Connection icon and choose Properties from the pull-down menu.
6. The Local Area Connection Properties window will display. On the General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the Properties button (see Figure 5).
   
   

   
   Figure 5.

7. On the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window confirm that the following settings are selected and then click the OK button (see Figure 6).
   • Obtain IP address automatically
   • Obtain DNS server address automatically
     
     Figure 6.
8. Click the OK button on the Local Area Connection Properties window.
9. If the word Connected does not appear with the Local Area Connection icon or if a red X displays with the icon, right-click on the icon and select Enable from the pull-down menu (see Figure 7).
   
   
   Figure 7.

Step 3: Activate your computer for wired access

1. Open your Web browser and go to: https://activate.bc.edu (see Figure 8)
   
   
   Figure 8.
   
2. For BC faculty, students, staff and affiliates (visitors skip to step 4):
   Click the button for BC faculty, students, staff, and affiliates and follow the instructions. Note the following:
   1. Windows computer users are required to download & install ePO, a required piece of Anti-Virus protection.
   2. If you get a message prompting you to change the name of your computer, another computer on the network already has the name you chose. There cannot be more than one computer on the network with the same computer name. Follow the instructions provided on the Activation web page to change your computer name.
3. Restart your computer after activating. There may be a short time delay after you activate before you can access your BC email and the web.
4. For Visitors:
   Click Visitors (see Figure 8) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete activation.
   All visitor access ends at 6:00 AM daily. To regain access to the Internet, you must repeat the activation process by going to activate.bc.edu using a web browser. Visitor Network Access provides access to the following services:
   1. Web browsing (including secure sites)
   2. Web email
   3. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
   4. VPN (Virtual Private Network)
   5. SSH (Secure Shell)
   6. NTP (Network Time Protocol)

Related Help Links

• Connecting to network printers, servers, and other BC services
• Connecting to the Internet using wireless on your laptop
• BC Visitor Network Access — information about temporary network access for BC visitors