Wired Networking

The wired network generally offers better performance and reliability than the various wireless networks, and so it is recommended that it be used where possible. Before a machine can make full use of the wired network, its MAC address must be registered by PPE IT support.

Linux and Mac OS X users can obtain the MAC address of by using the ifconfig command. The item of interest is usually labelled HWaddr, and will appear on a line which looks similar to the following:

$ ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:23:AE:94:B1:1E

(See also CampusNetwork for some wider issues.)

The PPE network has one public subnet and several private subnets. If an unknown machine is connected to a PPE data sockets, it will receive an IP address within the restricted Un-Trusted subnet. Once a machine has been registered with the PPE ITManagement, it will be added to either the Trusted, Laptop or Public subnets depending on the machine type.

No machine should ever be given a static IP address without the prior knowledge and agreement of the ITManagement.

Any machine that is thought to be a risk to the PPE network as a whole will be placed in an un-routed private subnet, and will therefore not be able to send or receive any internet traffic.

Laptop Subnet

Browsing for Windows shares is not possible from the Laptop subnet, but users can open Windows shares directly, e.g with Start->Run->\\ppesmb.

Checking a PC's IP Configuration

Windows

Start->Run->cmd

2. Type

ipconfig

(ipconfig options can be listed by typing ipconfig /?)

Linux

/sbin/ifconfig

(Further information can be found on the ifconfig man page.)

-- AndrewPickford - 03 Feb 2009