Connection Types

Undergraduate and Special Students (Pre-College, SAMS, PA Governor School, etc.)

For undergraduate and special students who will be living in on-campus housing, Carnegie Mellon offers wired and wireless Ethernet connectivity in every on-campus residence hall room.  To learn which connection type you have, refer to the Residence Hall list below. Note that some off-campus buildings offer Comcast Broadband service only. If your room offers Comcast Broadband service, refer to the Housing Services web site for help with establishing a network connection.

Graduate Students

Graduate students who live off-campus will need to choose their own Internet service. 

Prepare! 

Pre-purchase Your Hardware

Check the Residence Hall list below to determine what you need to purchase. To avoid lines when you arrive, the campus Computer Store offers a pre-order program to new undergraduate students. To pre-order your hardware, refer to the Computer Store's special freshman web page.

Pack Your Software

Steps necessary to configure your computer on the campus network may require that you insert your operating system CD. Be sure to bring to campus any operating system CDs as well as any software CDs that are installed on your computer. It may save you time and a lot of grief as you configure your computer.

Residence Hall Connection Types

The following is a comprehensive list of residence halls and the network connection type each of them offer. The list also indicates if the residence hall requires the use of an adapter, called a "Pass-through" (previously referred to as a balun). Pass-throughs are sold in Computer Sales of the University Store. For more information on Pass-throughs, see the Adapter section of the Connecting to the Network document.

Does your building offer wireless networking? If not, you can still plan to use a wired laptop connection in your room, and wireless networking in other academic buildings and key outdoor areas across campus. 

Comcast Broadband Service

Important! If your room offers only Comcast Broadband Service (Cathedral Mansions, Fairfax Apartments, London Terrace Apartments, Neville Apartments and Webster Hall), refer to the Housing Services web site for help.

Last Updated: 5/12/08