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Wired Network Connections

The CSE building has wired network connections in every office.  You may use these wired network connections to connect your workstation or research equipment up to the campus network.  All of the connections in the building are gigabit Ethernet connections.

In each office, you will find one or more wall plates with a number of network jacks on them.  Most wall plates have six network jacks (labeled A-F).  There are a number of other network jack configurations (such as 12 port patch panels in some labs and network jacks under floor plates).  For a network jack to be usable, it has to be activated.  Only a subset of the network jacks in the building are activated as we have many more network jacks scattered throughout the building  than we have available ports on our network switches.

To have a network port activated, please fill out a network request form.

On the network request form, you will need to specify a wall plate number and a network jack letter.  Wall plate numbers look like 2345.1.99.  On the standard wall plates, the numbers are on the top of the wall plate facing upward.  If you find a number like P2345A 1 on an electrical outlet, that is not the wall plate number that you will need.  In general, network jacks A and B are reserved for telephone connections.  So, please specify network jack C, D, E or F if they are open on the wall plate.  If you are having trouble identifying your wall plate number or jack letter, please contact CSEHelp for assistance.

When a network jack is activated it is placed on a certain VLAN based on how it is to be used.  These VLANs are used for different purposes and you must have the proper VLAN connected to your network jack for your computer to be able to access the network.  For example, static network addresses and dynamic network address use different VLANs.  CSEHelp will connect the appropriate VLAN to the network jack after receiving your network request.

If you are just setting up a workstation or a notebook computer that you don't plan on connecting to from a remote location, you may specify that you want a DHCP connection on the network request form.  If want to be able to connect to this computer from elsewhere on the network, you will need a static network address.  When you request a static network address, you will also need to specify a host name for your computer.  The host name will be on the ucsd.edu network (i.e. myhostname.ucsd.edu).  Host names are provided on a first come, first served basis.  If you want to check if your desired host name has already been taken, you can log into a Unix/Linux system and type "host myhostname.ucsd.edu".

Only use network addresses assigned to you by CSEHelp.  Please do not randomly select a network address.  If you randomly select a network address, you will cause network problems for the legitimate owner of the address.  Or, the address will be officially assigned out later and then you will all of a sudden start having strange network problems.

If you use a static network address, in addition to the network address itself, you will need to enter some of the following information into your computer to properly configure it:

  • Netmask: 255.255.255.0
  • Gateway: first three parts of your address followed by .1 (e.g. if your address is 132.239.95.##, your gateway will be 132.239.95.1)
  • Broadcast address: first three parts of your address followed by .255 (e.g. if your address is 132.239.95.##, your broadcast address will be 132.239.95.255)
  • DNS server: 132.239.0.252

If you have any problems getting your network connection working, please feel free to contact CSEHelp.

When connecting any computer to the campus network, please make sure that it complies with the campus minimum network standards.



by Dr. Radut.