North Carolina A&T State University

Academics

Admissions

 Bookstore Email Financial Aid About A&T

Band

 Bluford Library
become

Computer System Configurations

Related Links
DoIT Home | Student Services | Faculty/Staff Services | Policies / Standards | Departments | DoIT NEWS | Technology Training

In the Fall of 2005 NC A&T State University enabled the Aggie LAWN (Local Area Wireless Network) which changed the security protocol for the wireless network. This requires LEAP (Light Extensible Authentication Protocol) which was developed by CISCO as a secure and easy-to-use alternative to WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) which provided the 802.11b Wi-Fi Standard.

For more information on LEAP, please visit http://www.cisco.com.

Several manufacturers have now licensed this technology from Cisco and have joined the Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) program to provide LEAP compatibility on their wireless cards and devices. Below is a short list of wireless cards that are known to support CCX and LEAP technologies.

  • Linksys Wirelss-G WPC54G ver.2
  • NetGear WAG311 Dual Band Wireless PCI Adapter (Desktop Wireless)
  • NetGear WAG511 Dual Band Wireless PCI Card (PCMCIA)
  • Cisco Aironet 350 Series 11Mbps Wireless LAN PC Card (AIR-PCM352)
  • Dell TrueMobile 1300 802.11 b/g PC Card (PCMCIA)
  • Dell Wireless 1350 802.11 b/g PC Card (PCMCIA)
  • Dell TrueMobile 1300 Internal 802.11b/g miniPCI Card
  • Dell TrueMobile 1400 Internal Dual-band WLAN Card
  • Dell Wireless 1350 (802.11b/g) WLAN miniPCI Card
  • Dell Wireless 1450 (802.11a/b/g) Dual-Band WLAN miniPCI Card
  • IntelŪ PRO/Wireless 2100 miniPCI Card
  • IntelŪ PRO/Wireless 2200BG miniPCI Card
  • Hewlett Packard Broadcom 500 (and above)

 

It is strongly recommended that any computer appearing on campus be a "business class" machine. Many computers designed for home use are not meant to be networked via an ethernet adapter and cannot accommodate the devices which are required for RESNET service.

 

PLEASE NOTE

Using an older computer often delays the purchase of a new one. However, depending on the situation, an older computer may not be a feasible option for more than a year. If a student plans to bring a computer to campus, it should meet or preferably exceed the following recommendations.

Configuration for Network Accessibility for Computing
 on the NC A&T State University Campus

Component
Desktop Configuration
Laptop Configuration
CPU Pentium IV Pentium M
RAM 512 MB 512 MB
Optical Drive CD-ROM CD-ROM
Hard Drive 20GB 20 GB
Network 10/100 Ethernet 10/100 Ethernet
Wireless N/A LEAP compatible adapter
Monitor 17” 14.1"
Operating System Windows 2000/XP Windows 2000/XP



Preferred Hardware Requirements for Computing
 on the NC A&T State University Campus

Component
New Desktop
New Laptop
CPU Pentium IV / 3.4Ghz or better Intel Centrino Processor
RAM 1 GB RAM 512 MB RAM
Optical Drive CD-RW or CD-RW/DVD Combo CD-RW or CD-RW/DVD Combo
Hard Drive 80GB Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive
Network 10/100/1000 Ethernet 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Wireless N/A LEAP compatible adapter
Monitor 17" Flat Panel Monitor 14.1" Screen
Operating System

Windows XP Professional

 Windows XP Professional
Warranty 3 yr on-site parts and labor 3 yr on-site parts and labor

 

Recommended Portable Storage Devices

When storing, accessing or transferring data, NC A&T recommends using a 256MB USB Flash Drive instead of the traditional Floppy Disk.

USB flash drives are also known as "pen drives", "memory sticks", "thumb drives", and "USB keys".

The use of a floppy disk is not recommended due to essentially becoming obsolete because of their low capacity (1.44 MB) and relatively low transfer speed.