Mass use of Dixie State University’s Wi-Fi from multiple devices has caused consistent Internet unavailability on campus.
Kai Anderson, a junior CIT major from St. George, said DSU Wi-Fi comprises three servers: RedStorm, DSUhotspot and DSUguest. Students, faculty and guests on campus use Wi-Fi. Anderson said he believes because of this constant use, the Wi-Fi has been slow to the point of not working. Computers, cell phones and iPads are all contributing to the problem.
Brittany Redhouse, a junior general education major from Aneth, said she runs into Wi-Fi trouble when she tries to connect to some of the DSU servers.
“The only trouble I’ve been having has to be when I connect to the DSUguest and RedStorm,” Redhouse said. “It says it’s limited.”
Anderson said his computer has been kicking him off lately.
“My computer just wouldn’t assign an IP address to work with,” Anderson said.
Anderson said another problem is the connection of multiple cellphones to the Internet. Most wireless carriers used to have unlimited data, but companies such as Verizon and AT&T got rid of it. Now people rely on Wi-Fi.
Chris Esplin, a sophomore biology major from Orderville and an IT technician for the Smith Computer Center, said his opinion on why the Wi-Fi is bad because the server assigns IP addresses, and the students’ different devices that are connected cause overuse.
Tevita Sekeni, a junior communication major from Tonga and an IT lab assistant for the Smith Computer Center, said he thinks the school should stick to using one server: Redstorm, in which, guests, students, faculty and staff all use because technocracy is changing every day. When a new product comes in, they have to change the way servers connect for the new technology. Instead of changing three servers, they could just change one server.
Jerry Matson, director of network services, said the first issue with Wi-Fi occurred because it ran out of IP addresses. The problem has been rectified by adding more IP addresses. The current number of total IP addresses available to the student Wi-Fi at this time is 4,088. Wireless covers a building but not density, which is the amount of people using the wireless. Big areas of high student concentration have the most problems with wireless. An example of this is the Hazy building, which can have 100 people on the floor. The IT department took care of the Hazy building by changing the access points of the first and second floor Nov. 2. A major problem is students are using as much as three to four devices that require wireless. Whether or not a student is using their devices it is using an IP address.
Matson said the IT department didn’t hear complaints until recently about the Wi-Fi. The IT department has had no issues in the past five years. These problems are all new this semester. The IT department is waiting for more funding to take care of any further Wi-Fi problems. If students want something like the Wi-Fi usage better, they need to let the IT department know. Students can go to the help desk or call (435) 879-4357.