Wireless (WiFi)

Berkeley Lab Wireless Networks

The Lab offers multiple wireless networks, each serving a different purpose and identified by unique names called SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers). The connection protocols and capabilities vary so selecting the appropriate wireless network for your needs is important.  All of these networks are provided by the same wireless access point hardware, and so should all have the same signal strength and coverage areas. If you have problems connectiong please see our troubleshooting tips.

Open

SSID: lbnl-open
Availability: Anybody at the main Berkeley Lab Hill site.
Description: An open network that is easily accessible to everyone without needing to authenticate.  If your device supports Wi-Fi Enhanced Open your traffic will be encrypted when broadcast over the air.  This network replaces the old, deprecated lbnl-visitor wireless network.
Get Connected: Choose “lbnl-open” from the Wi-Fi network options on your device. No password is required.

eduroam

SSID: eduroam
Availability: All Berkeley Lab employees and affiliates with a Berkeley Lab identity plus visitors from participating institutions.
Description: eduroam (education roaming) provides federated, authenticated, and encrypted world-wide internet access to the international research and education community. Configuring your device for eduroam gives you wireless access at Berkeley Lab and at many participating institutions around the world including UC Berkeley.
Get Connected: Follow the general instructions in the IT FAQ – eduroam Installation.

Employee

SSID: lbnl-employee
Availability: Staff and affiliates with a Berkeley Lab identity.
Description: Offers access to a secure, authenticated, encrypted network with high-speed internet.  This network offers access to Berkeley Lab IT resources similar to when one is plugged into the wired network in a Berkeley Lab building or connected to the remote access VPN.
Get Connected: Follow the IT FAQ instructions for your device:

• Employee Wireless for Android
• Employee Wireless for Apple Computer
• Employee Wireless for Chromebooks
• Employee Wireless for FreeBSD
• Employee Wireless for iPhone/iPad
• Employee Wireless for Windows 10

Off-Site Visitor

SSID: lbnl-visitor-offsite
Availability: Anybody at an “off-site” Lab location.
Description: Unencrypted network for visitors to off-site Lab buildings. The password changes weekly.
Get Connected: Visit go.lbl.gov/lbnl-visitor-offsite to retrieve the weekly password (Lab identity required). Choose “lbnl-visitor-offsite” from the Wi-Fi network options on your device and enter the password.

Internet of Things (IoT)

SSID: lbnl-iot
Availability: Restricted to approved IoT devices that need to connect to the internet but may not support the security protocols of our main networks.
Description: This network has a basic firewall and specific usage terms. For more information on the IoT network, refer to the IT FAQ – lbnl-iot Terms of Service.
Get Connected: Contact the Networking group at lblnet@lbl.gov. 

Visitor

SSID: lbnl-visitor
Availability: Deprecated  Anybody at the main Berkeley Lab Hill site.
Description: An open and unencrypted network that is easily accessible to everyone. This network is being retired.  Devices should use lbnl-open instead of lbnl-visitor.  lbnl-visitor will remain available until 2027 to allow for a smooth transition.  Until it is retired lbnl-visitor will not get the performance improvements that will be available on other networks like lbnl-open, eduroam, and lbnl-employee.
Get Connected: Choose “lbnl-visitor” from the Wi-Fi network options on your device. No password is required.

Special Purpose Equipment

SSID: LBNL-Equipment
Availability: Restricted to approved devices only.  This network is being retired and LBLnet will work with users over the next several months to migrate devices on LBNL-Equipment to the lbnl-iot network.
Description: Special purpose protected network when necessary. Requires significant justification and MOU.
Get Connected: Contact the Networking group at lblnet@lbl.gov