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Valdosta State University has been experiencing some technical difficulties with the on-campus internet system, HallNet.

Campus internet problems continue

Valdosta State University has been experiencing some technical difficulties with the on-campus internet system, HallNet. Random outages, inability to connect to the network, and failure to start the internet have made on-campus students frustrated with the supposedly revamped, renewed, and revitalized system.
“My biggest problem with the internet is that it just doesn’t work,” Tia Gore, freshman French major, said. “And when it does work, it’s extremely slow.”
Originally, HallNet was supposed to be a seamless wireless Wi-Fi network that could work anywhere on campus. However, students have to continue to resort to alternatives for internet access such as Ethernet cables.
The Information Technology Department has been working to improve the system since the start of summer. Improvements include an addition of a separate bandwidth for the residential network. However, even with the improvements, there are still problems.
Students should be aware that by using their own personal modem or gateway system they are actually doing more harm to the universities system than actual good. A single modem that has not been integrated into VSU’s network can knock out the internet for an entire residence hall, leading to flaring tempers among residents.
Other improvements that have been made include using a different type of radio output product in Langdale Hall called Xirrus. In conjunction with using the new product, they have also been trying out different positions for the modems and radios to increase the speed and efficiency of the HallNet system in Langdale Hall.
Isaac Barton, Assistant Director of the IT Department, is pleased with the improvements, and hopes to improve more before the semester is over.
“The new bandwidth is the largest improvement,” Barton said. “It has 100 megabits, which is the same as the campus pipeline. That way, the residential and campus networks don’t impede each other. If we can make more improvements, that would be great. We really need to try to strengthen the wireless where we can.”
Most students complain about a lot of their problems with the IT department such as slowness in service and never even being able to access the internet.
“The websites that matter, you can’t get on,” Traivon King, freshman English Major, said.
According to Barton, the biggest and most common problem with the wireless internet is the fact that it is the wireless internet.
“There are just so many variables,” Barton said. “Sometimes there are density issues, and then there are different types of devices trying to connect. With the wired network, the main problem we have is configuration on individual laptops.”
However, even with the problems with all computers and internet access on campus, one can’t help but wonder if there’s a possibility that some Apple computers are more inclined to get a connection than regular PCs. After all, there’s an Apple-based Tech Shop right in the Student Union.
Barton, however, has dispelled the thought of product placement from Apple here at VSU.
“IT has no relationship with Apple,” Barton said. “Besides the Tech Shop, there is no other affiliation with Apple through Information Technology. We’re technologically agnostic and support both Macs and Windows.”
Still, there are students who complain about the IT Department itself.
“They have a serious lack of response,” Amanda Stone, senior Political Science major, said. “Whenever I have to put in work orders for computer issues, it can take longer than a week for them to get to us.”
Barton said Information Technology is continuing to work on the problems; however due to a small staff, the problems may take some time to be fixed.
“I’ll be open and honest,” Barton said. “We had a hardware failure on the second day of class, of all days. As for the slowness, we only have three technicians for the entire campus, and we have to prioritize the needs of the campus. We’ll take them as we get them; in fact, we have a position open for a fourth technician to help out. There are certain challenges we’ll face, but we’re doing our best to take care of the situation.”

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