The campus network--Dormnet

Your campus and world-wide connection

All dorm rooms have wired and wireless access to Dormnet, the Princeton University residential network. With Dormnet, you have access to:

  • The Internet and a wealth of academic resources, such as course web sites and online library catalogs.
  • High-speed printers in or near every dorm.
  • 5 GB of personal, backed up, network-attached storage space.

Connecting to Dormnet

To connect to Dorment, your computer will need an Ethernet card, and a cable or an 802.11b or 802.11g compatible wireless adapter. Ethernet cables will be available on campus at the OIT Solutions Center in the Frist Campus Center.


Register your computer

You will also need to register your computer with Princeton University’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) by providing basic information about your computer in an online system called the OIT Host Database. SCI computers are preregistered. If you have a non-SCI computer, we recommend you register your computer from home before you come to campus.  To register, go to www.princeton.edu/dormnet.  (If you don't register from home, don't worry, you will be able to register when you arrive, using the same Dormnet page.)


The Dormnet community

As a member of a campus-wide network, you are responsible for protecting your computer with reliable antivirus software and timely security updates. An infected or compromised computer can affect the entire network.

Use the following guidelines for keeping your computer safe and for helping maintain a high-performing network.

Protect your computer and the network.  
Princeton University’s site-licensed McAfee VirusScan software and keep your computer up to date with the latest patches and antivirus definitions. For more details and instructions to download antivirus software for your computer, see www.princeton.edu/antivirus.

Help keep network traffic flowing.  
Programs that generate excessive network traffic slow the network and affect everyone on it.   Examples are peer-to-peer file sharing applications and certain multi-player games.

Avoid devices that operate in the 2.4GHz frequency range. 
Devices that use signals in the 2.4GHz frequency range can disrupt the wireless network service and include cordless phones, walkie-talkies, and consumer-model wireless network access points and routers. Network Address Translators (NATs) are also not recommended nor supported for use on Dormnet.

Respect copyright. 
Networks make it possible to transmit digital copies of things like music, images, TV shows, and movies. It is usually illegal to share copyrighted materials permission. If you share copyrighted material illegally, you are subject to legal and University disciplinary action, so don’t do it!

Know and respect University computing policies. 
Become familiar with, and comply with, the University’s policies for using Dormnet and other information technology resources at www.princeton.edu/guidelines.