Ethernet registration has for several years been a fall ritual--unless they log on to a public terminal, take a quiz and give information about their computers, students can't connect to the Internet. And once they've registered, that is the only jack they can use.

But this technology is obsolete. On campuses such as MIT, Boston University and Yale students can connect to any ethernet jack on campus without registering--a system called "roaming ethernet."

According to John B. Howard, director of Information Technology for Havard College Libraries, with roaming ethernet students can use their registered ethernet cards to connect to any data jack in the school.

But at Harvard, only the Law School is wired.

Tech Overhaul

Plans are in the works to bring roaming ethernet to Harvard, says Franklin M. Steen, director of FAS computer services. But first, Harvard's whole network will be changed.

Currently, Harvard works on a "shared access network system." This means that the more people a network hosts, the slower it will run.

But over the next year, FAS computer services plans to change to a "switch network", which gives each user a personal bandwidth.

Last year, plans to install roaming ethernet were delayed until after the switch network is installed.

For almost a year, FAS computer services has been developing software for roaming ethernet. When it is installed, every ethernet connection at Harvard will use the roaming software.

Right now, only Langdell Library and Harkness Commons at the Law School (HLS) are wired, and students flock there.

Gerald L. Williams '03 says he uses the roaming ethernet at Langdell two to three times a week.

"It's good because I don't have to stay in my dorm to get my work done," he said, adding that he is disappointed that Lamont, Harvard College's library lacks the technology.

"All options available for one group should be available for another," he said.

There are 540 roaming ethernet dataports at tables, carrels, lounges and study rooms in Langdell. These are available to anyone with a Harvard ID and registered ethernet card--except during HLS reading period and exams, when non-HLS ID-carriers are not admitted into the library.

Both Lamont and Widener are now undergoing renovations and are leaving space for roaming ethernet technology.

At the end of Widener's renovation, in two and a half years, two new reading rooms will have data jacks for laptop users.

Lamont's third-floor reading room was renovated this summer, and posters there brag about the power outlets at every study space. And there's space to add roaming ethernet sometime soon.

"When you're doing construction these days you prepare for the future," Howard said.

Langdell's system will soon be outdated. When the rest of the network is changed to the switch system, HLS' facilities will be redone. The library was given roaming ethernet only as an experiment, according to Steen.

"The experiment worked, but it was dependent on previous, shared technology," he said.

A Networked Neighborhood

Other schools like MIT, Boston University and Yale are ahead of Harvard in adopting roaming ethernet. According to Jim Stone, director of Boston University's consulting services, several years ago his school made the decision to forgo ethernet technology that required registration at a particular jack. Instead, all students use roaming ethernet.

And MIT introduced the technology two years ago.

"Our goal was to form a ubiquitous network for people to be able to plug into the network and do stuff," said Albert Willis, a member of the MIT information systems staff.

Now classrooms, libraries, public areas and common rooms are wired with roaming ethernet.

And according to Willis, MIT recently began to play with wireless networking--the next technology to come.

In comparison to schools, Harvard is behind in roaming ethernet technology, a delay caused by security concerns, according to Steen.

He says that Harvard was confronted with the issue of roaming "with security" or roaming "without security."

Because Harvard waited to design a secure system--and then began the new network--it has taken longer to install the technology.

"In brief, when running a campus network that connects 10,000+ computers, in several hundred buildings, with several hundred wiring closets in those buildings,with those 10,000+ computers running dozens of different operating systems and configurations, it is more difficult than one might think to keep the network running smoothly," Rick Osterberg, director of residential computing, wrote in an e-mail message.

"We try to strike a balance between usability, flexibility, and reliability, security, and stability," Osterberg added.

According to Steen Harvard's roaming technology will help off-campus undergraduates and graduate students who now must use dial-up technology. Instead, they can bring their laptops to Harvard libraries or study spaces.

"Roaming ethernet is definitely coming," Osterberg said. "We know it's been a long wait, and that there have been several delays along the way, but we're very excited about it, and hope that our user population finds it to be as valuable a service as hope it will be."