Advice on router for dorm room

[Fatawan]

Hello!

I am sending my son off to college this fall. The University has the best rated wireless of all its peers, but I was thinking about the dorm rooms themselves. I assume a single(or maybe 2) ethernet jacks in each dorm room. Would it be advisable to get a wired router to throw a firewall in for security along with providing additional ethernet jacks? If so, any recs on what to purchase?

Thanks

 

[abailey]

You need to find out the policy for the school. Most schools prohibit students from putting routers in their dorm rooms. This is done because the student could then hand out wireless that is not secure. Some will let you add a switch so you can have more devices. You really need to find out the policy.

 

[stevech]

Agree.
And on the technical front, many schools have means to block use of WiFi routers by students, e.g., giving students static IP with MAC address registration at the school, and other means.

Some schools may have their own WiFi system.

Students probably have to install/use security / firewall software dictated by the school or they won't be authenticated on to the school networks.

It's likely (hopefully) not like a home WiFi/LAN arrangement.

 

[Fatawan]

I wasn't thinking WiFi router, but strictly wired. The school has a great WiFi system--I was simply thinking about wired security when in the dorm room. I have inquired at the school, but no responses as to policy yet. Would that hardware firewall be unnecessary or useful? I guess that is my ultimate question for the pros here.

 

[abailey]

I like hardware firewalls and think it would be good if you could put one in. But once again my bet is that they do not allow firewalls because once you put in a firewall they cannot see or control their network beyond that point. Thus there is nothing stopping you from putting in a wireless AP behind your firewall.

 

[Samir]

University LANs have become a lot like corporate LANs--they dictate the hardware, software, and what you can do.

Not like back in the day when the guy down my hall had a top 25 ftp site running off his connection, lol.

 

[stevech]

I wasn't thinking WiFi router, but strictly wired. The school has a great WiFi system--I was simply thinking about wired security when in the dorm room. I have inquired at the school, but no responses as to policy yet. Would that hardware firewall be unnecessary or useful? I guess that is my ultimate question for the pros here.

Not a router... school IT probably won't allow or enable double-NAT which happens with a 2nd router, also on a private IP address LAN (like 192.168.1.x or 10.x.x.x)

It may be permitted to use a switch. But this often comes to economics: enterprise IT gets a fee per user connection and a switch could violate policy and permit no-fee users. Some IT systems detect switches and the IT cops come.

You could rely on a good firewall software package on the PC/laptop. There's one built into windows, and perhaps the MAC too.