IU Secure wireless connections: Ubuntu

To connect to the IU Secure wireless network at Indiana University using Ubuntu, you must obtain a valid Thawte certificate, and then follow the instructions for your Ubuntu version. For instructions for other Linux distributions, see IU Secure wireless connections: Linux

On this page:

• Obtaining a Thawte certificate
• Connecting to IU Secure

Obtaining a Thawte certificate

The IU Secure authentication server uses Thawte as its root certificate authority. You need a valid Thawte root certificate in Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) format to connect to IU Secure.

UITS recommends that you use the certificate installed with your operating system. If you do not have the root certificate installed, you can download it from Thawte's Download Root Certificates.

After you download the thawte-roots.zip file, extract the Thawte Root Certificates/thawte Premium Server CA/Thawte Premium Server CA.pem file to your home directory.

In a default Ubuntu installation, you can find the certificate in /etc/ssl/certs/Thawte_Premium_Server_CA.pem.

Connecting to IU Secure

1. Click the NetworkManager applet (a pair of superimposed monitors, typically in the upper bar on the right), and select IU Secure. The Wireless Network Authentication Required window will appear.
   
   
2. Configure the settings as follows:
   
   
   • Next to "Wireless Security:", select WPA & WPA2 Enterprise.
   • Next to "Authentication:", select Protected EAP (PEAP).
   • Leave the "Anonymous Identity:" field blank.
   • Click the button next to "CA Certificate:", and then browse to the Thawte certificate.
   • Next to "PEAP Version:", choose Version 0.
   • Make sure "Inner Authentication:" is set to MSCHAPv2.
   • Next to "User Name:" and "Password:", enter your IU Network ID username and passphrase, respectively.

     Note: Do not check Show password, as it will display your Network ID passphrase in clear text.

3. Click Connect. If the connection fails, you will be prompted to re-enter configuration details.

When you successfully connect, you'll see a series of blue bars of increasing height in place of the superimposed monitors.

At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

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