Whether you are a student, a faculty or staff member, or a visitor, wireless connections are widely available on Rice's campus. Wired connections are available in faculty and staff offices and in the residential colleges (one network port per resident). Members of the Rice community can also connect to the internal network via VPN when off campus.
On Campus
Wireless and wired connections are available on campus.
Connect to one of three local wireless networks
- Rice OWLs – an encrypted network available to all faculty, students and staff
- Eduroam – an encrypted network available to all faculty, students, staff, and visitors from institutions that participate in the Eduroam project
- Rice Visitor – an open, unencrypted network that requires web-browser acceptance of Rice University’s Appropriate Use Policy
More about connecting your device to the wireless network
Connect to the wired network
Plug in your Ethernet cable or console for the fastest and most consistent connection on campus.
More about connecting your device to the wired network
Client machines connected to an active wired port will be presented with an 802.1X challenge for a Rice NetID login or a redirection of web browser connections to a self-registration and client setup site.
Network Specifications
All wireless networks are delivered over 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz frequencies providing 802.11 a,b,g,n and some limited 802.11 ac wave 2 protocols. All of Rice’s network ports are capable of 10/100/1000 mb/s connections using category 6, twisted pair patch cords.
Off Campus
The Rice Virtual Private Networking (VPN) system allows secure transportation of data between the university network and a remote computer connected to the Internet outside of Rice. Using the VPN, you can access all of Rice's network resources while off campus.
Connect to the VPN
To obtain VPN (virtual private network) access, login to your account on mynetid.rice.edu to download the necessary software.