Windows    Macintosh    What is DHCP

To connect your computer to the public computer ports at the bar in the 2nd floor entry area and in the Engineering Student Commons, your must have configured your computer to use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP allows your computer to obtain a temporary IP address when connected to these ports. Using DHCP means that you do not have to register your computer with ECS. A machine with DHCP disabled will almost certainly be unable to access the UI Wireless eduroam network or the setup to get onto eduroam. You might have disabled DHCP to configure Domain Name Service (DNS) servers to connect to another network. To use the UI Wireless setup, enable DHCP so that the setup web site forwards you to the correct page. While using university DNS servers for setup is mandatory, once initial setup is complete, custom DNS servers can be enabled and used without issue.

Windows 7

Go to Start | Control Panel and select Network and Sharing Center. Select Local Area Connection (right side of Network and Sharing Center), then Properties. You may need to enter authorizing credentials, as admin rights are required to make a change. Make the selections noted in the the Windows Vista section directly below.

Windows Vista

Go to Start | Network; click on Network and Sharing Center in the Network window, then Manage Network Connections. On the Network Connections window, right lock on Local Area Connection and select Properties from the drop-down menu. In the Local Area Connections Properties window, select Internet Protocol Version 4. Then click Properties (lower right), as highlighted below.

 

connection settings for LAN

On the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window, verify that Obtain an IP Address automatically is selected, as shown below.

interent protocol properties, IP automatically

Macintosh

  1. Click on the Apple button in the top left hand corner of the desktop and select System Preferences from the dropdown menu.
  2. Click Network under the Internet and Wireless section.
  3. From the list of connections of the left, select Wi-Fi.
  4. From the dropdown menu at the top called Locations, select Automatic and from the Configure IPv4 dropdown menu, select Using DHCP.
  5. Click Apply.

What is DHCP

(from Wikipedia) The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a standardized network protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for dynamically distributing network configuration parameters, such as IP addresses for interfaces and services. With DHCP, computers request IP addresses and networking parameters automatically from a DHCP server, reducing the need for a network administrator or a user to configure these settings manually.

Help

For help setting up DHCP, talk to the consultant at the Engineering Help Desk, 319-335-5055, 1253 SC.