Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services' (HASCS) long- deferred promise of roaming ethernet access will soon become a reality.

Starting at 3 p.m. on Monday, June 15, students will no longer be required to register their computer with a particular ethernet jack.

Instead, they will be allowed to carry their computers with them--to house libraries, dining halls and common rooms--and plug into Harvard's network wherever is convenient.

At first, roaming ethernet will only function in the Houses and Yard dormitories.

Lamont Library, Widener, Annenberg and faculty offices will not see the change for some time to come.

"FAS network operations is going to try to roll out roaming in academic and faculty buildings in the coming year," says Kevin S. Davis '98, the coordinator for residential computing at HASCS.

HASCS has long promised that roaming ethernet was right around the corner. However, before the change could take place, HASCS had to complete substantial upgrades to its network.

Currently, computers on the FAS network are connected through a series of "hubs." Under the hub system, data is broadcast en masse to all the computers on the network. Individual computers must then snag data that is intended for them.