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Wireless Loaner Cards in the Medical Library

Anyone with a valid Yale University ID may borrow a wireless networking card to use with their personal laptop computer. Wireless cards may be borrowed from the Circulation Desk for up to 4 hours for use within the library. You will need to leave your ID at the Circulation Desk until you return the card.

Wireless networking is available throughout most areas of the library. The cards will provide access to all Internet resources available on a standard university network connection once you have established a VPN (Virtual Private Networking) connection (see VPN details below).

Computer Compatibility
All cards are Lucent Orinoco Gold model wireless cards. You must have a free PCMCIA card slot in your laptop to use the wireless card. Virtually any Windows OS laptop computer will have this capability.
Mac OS X does not support external PCMCIA wireless cards. Some Macintosh computers have a PCMCIA card slot but only older Macs running OS 9 can easily use the card.

Safe Computing at Yale
Safe computing requires prompt installation of all critical operating system patches and an updated anti-virus program. You should not connect your laptop to the Yale wireless network until you ensure your computer is patched and free from viruses. Extensive information on best practices and network standards is available from ITS-MED Information Security.

Installing the Wireless Card in your Computer
The first time you use a card there is some initial setup. Some computers will also require you to install software from a CD-ROM.

Windows computers running newer versions of the operating systems (e.g., Windows 2000, Windows XP) will have the easiest time getting the cards up and running.  Some Mac models do not have PCMCIA slots (If your computer has one of these operating systems, you probably won't have to install any software to get the card to work.

Detailed instructions on how to configure your laptop to use one of the Medical Library's loaner cards are available from the Circulation Desk or you can download this PDF document (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):

           Configuring your laptop to use a Medical Library Wireless Card  icon_acro.gif - 103 Bytes

VPN (Virtual Private Networking) Requirement for Wireless Networking
Wireless networking is potentially less secure than wired network connections. To increase security on the wireless network, ITS-MED now requires a VPN connection for all users of the Yale wireless network on the Medical School campus.  The VPN service can be used by any Yale University employee or affiliate with an activated NETID.   You must use your NetID and NetID password to download the VPN software and then to login into the VPN each time you make a connection on the wireless network anywhere at Yale.  For more Information, see:

General Information about Wireless Networking around Yale
For additional information on wireless networking including locations of access points and registering your own card, go to " Wireless Networking in the Medical Library".

For further assistance, contact Mark Gentry, Clinical Support Librarian or Jason Reinstedler, Computer Support Specialist.

Mark Gentry
mark.gentry@yale.edu
785-2163

Jason Reinstedler
jason.reinstedler@yale.edu
785-5770