This page answers frequently asked questions about the UIUCnet Premier and UIUCnet Dialup services in general. For troubleshooting information, see the Troubleshooting page.
Getting started
- Which password should I use to dial in?
- What phone number should I call?
- I'm shopping for a new modem. What should I get?
- Can my phone line handle 56K speeds?
Daily use
- How many hours a week can I use the CITES terminal servers?
- What if I need more hours?
- How can I find out how many hours I have in my account?
General information
Getting started
Which password should I use to dial in?
Your Network ID and Network ID password are the identification you'll need to connect to any of the UIUC dialup servers.
What phone number should I call?
CITES currently operates the following dialup numbers:
Speed Access Phone Number 56Kb/s V.90/Kflex Premier subscribers only 239-7252 56Kb/s V.90/Kflex available to all authorized users 333-3700 56Kb/s V.90/Kflex available to all authorized users, limit of 15 minutes per call 244-4976 If you're dialing from on campus, an office, another area code, or some other location which requires dialing 9 and/or an area code first, you may find the principles of 800 number configuration helpful. (Even if you aren't using a UIUC 800 number, you can use the same mechanisms to create another configuration for use when in an office or when traveling outside the 217 area code.)
I'm shopping for a new modem. What should I get?
The answer depends on what types of networking are available in your location.
If your telephone line is your only available method of networking, a simple answer is "Get a v.90 capable 56Kbps modem." Even if you never get anything better than 28.8Kbps, you will reap some benefits.
Your modem will probably be flash upgradable (with bug fixes, for example). If you leave the university community, or just decide to get an account with another ISP, you might have better results with their equipment. If you decide to sell your modem or computer later, a 56Kbps modem is more likely to retain its value than a less capable one.
If you have the option to connect to a higher-speed network (such as an Ethernet, wireless, or cable-modem connection available in your house or apartment), see Network Connection Options for additional information on faster, non-dialup forms of networking.
Can my phone line handle 56K speeds?
An excellent description of why some phone lines can or cannot support 56Kbps connections was written by the folks at Netheaven, an ISP in New York.
Please keep in mind that the CITES 56Kbps capable modems only support V.90 and Kflex v1.1. If you are buying a new modem, you should be sure it supports V.90, which is the official standard, and therefore the best supported.
Daily use
How many hours a week can I use the CITES terminal servers?
All authorized users are allocated a certain number of hours per week. Most faculty, students, and staff members are allowed to use up to 20 hours per week for free. If, at the end of the week, there are hours remaining, these remaining hours can be "banked" up to a limit of 40 hours for most users.
The number of hours per week each user receives depends on the "type" fields of a user's PH entry. Because this data is updated regularly from information feeds received from both payroll and student records, this should be a very accurate way of determining how many hours a user is entitled to.
As noted above, most users are issued 20 free hours per week, with a maximum bank account value of 40 hours. Some common exceptions include:
- Students living in dorm rooms wired for Ethernet are issued only 5 hours per week, with a maximum bank of 20 hours. This helps encourage residence hall users to use the network connection freely available to them already.
- 5 hours per week are also allotted to certain persons who are not technically UIUC students, faculty, or staff, including:
- Extra help staff members
- Students enrolled in Intensive English Institute (IEI) or Executive Development Center (EDC) courses
- Visiting scholars not on UIUC payroll
You can check how many hours you've used and how many you've collected at https://www-s7.cites.uiuc.edu/termserv/myhours.cgi.
What if I need more hours?
Normally, if your dialup time "bank account" is empty, the terminal servers will not let you log in. However, you can sign up to be billed for terminal server usage over your free allocation, at the rate of $.30/hour. You can now sign up for or cancel this online at https://uofitelecom.cso.uiuc.edu/changeservice_WebTSO.cgi/sourcehtml/ndo/termserv/TSfacstaff_Entry.html.
How can I find out how many hours I have in my account?
You can securely access this information on the web at https://www-s7.cites.uiuc.edu/termserv/myhours.cgi.
At this time, the Hours server can not adjust for the time you've spent online during the current session, if any. In addition to showing how many hours you currently have in your account, it will also note whether you are signed up to be billed for extra hours or are a subscriber to the Premier service.
General information
What is the UIUCnet Premier service?
In order to meet the demand for dialup access, CITES offers a subscription-based service called UIUCnet Premier. UIUCnet Premier's goal is to provide a modem pool with few or no busy signals and as much available time as a user needs. This service also supports the latest in modem technology, and supports the 56Kbps V.90 and Kflex v1.1 standards.
More information on Premier is available at http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/dialup/premier.html.
Are the modems protected by the campus firewall?
Yes, the modems are in the "Fully Closed" category.
In simple terms, this means that while you are using a modem to dial into the network, any request your computer makes to receive information outside the firewall will be permitted to leave. However, if a machine outside the firewall wants to initiate a connection that will go into your computer, it will be denied. For example, you can connect to any other web server from a modem, but you won't be able to run a web server over a modem, because connection requests originating from off-campus will be denied.
For more information, see: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/firewall/plandetails.html#fullyclosed
Where can I find more information online?
Here are some sites that have useful data or suggestions for troubleshooting dialup problems. CITES makes no guarantee about these sites, other than that they were active and looked helpful at the time when they were added to the page.
- http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/dialup/troubleshooting.html (the UIUCnet Premier and UIUCnet Dialup troubleshooting page)
- http://modemsite.com/ and http://www.modemhelp.net/ (troubleshooting, information, and links)
- http://www.modemhelp.net/quickref.shtml (init codes and more)
- http://www.modemsite.com/56k/dunserror.asp (Windows error codes and more)
- http://www.56k.com/ (for modem documentation, firmware pointers)
- http://www.modem-help.co.uk/ (information from the UK, where some phone line and modem settings are different than the US)
- http://www.windrivers.com/alpha/modem.htm (firmware upgrade pointers)
Where can I talk to a live support person for more help?
You can call the CITES Help Desk at 244-7000 (or toll-free at 1-800-531-2531) to report problems or ask questions. Alternatively, you can send mail to the Help Desk at consult@uiuc.edu.
CITES welcomes comments about our services and comments about our web site.
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Last modified June 19, 2006