Office of Information Technology

On-Campus Connecting to UT

UT offers a free Ethernet cable and a dedicated 10-megabit/second Ethernet connection to each student living in the residence halls on campus. These ResNet connections provide you with access to the Internet, e-mail, and your UNIX account (which enables you to create a Web page). These Ethernet connections are up to 300 times faster than a regular dial-up connection and do not require the use of a telephone line, modem, or an additional Internet service provider like AOL.

The Office of Information Technology, (OIT) sells both network cards and cables at a discounted rate, subsidized by the Student Technology Fee. OIT also provides free installation and configuration for all supported network cards. For more information, call 974-9900 or go to the Web page at http://oit.utk.edu/helpdesk and click on “ResNet” under “Service Areas.” From this page you can subscribe to the UT ResNet listserv to keep up to date on outages and improvements.

To take advantage of a ResNet connection, you will need three things: (1) a computer that meets the minimum system requirements (listed at right), (2) a network interface card which students can purchase from OIT at a discounted rate, and (3) a network cable—one cable is provided free of charge to each student.

To avoid standing in long lines at the beginning of the fall semester, we recommend that you bring your computer with you to Orientation. Our offices are open during the summer to assist you with the purchase and installation of your network interface card. To take advantage of early registration, all you need to do is bring your CPU or laptop to our OIT Service Center located in 104 Aconda Court. The service center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The minimum system requirements for computers connecting to ResNet are listed in the next column. Less capable configurations may work adequately for you, but they are likely to perform more slowly. If you have a problem with a computer that does not meet these minimums, the ResNet team will be unable to assist you.