Frequently Asked Questions
Browse common questions below. For additional help, contact the UBIT Help Center.
What you see
Every visitor sees the public IP address detected for the visit and may also see an internet provider, approximate geolocation, DNS provider, and configured security filtering status. If the address is recognized as campus or VPN traffic and UB network systems have matching data, the site may additionally show:
- Campus network and Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) assignment
- DHCP and network configuration details, when available
- Network Access Control (NAC) details, such as switch port and connection policy, when available
- Wi-Fi connection details - SSID, access point name, and signal quality (when available)
- A building location map when a wired or Wi-Fi connection has mapped location data
These details can help you investigate a problem yourself or help UBIT Help Center staff troubleshoot access to UB network resources.
Off-campus visitors see the public IP address detected for the visit and may also see an internet provider, approximate location, DNS provider, and configured security filtering status. Internal campus details such as VLAN assignment, NAC information, and building location are not normally available for off-campus addresses.
If your UB VPN connection uses an address recognized by this deployment, the tool may show additional campus network details.
Several things can cause this:
- You are connected to a guest or visitor Wi-Fi network rather than the main campus network
- Your device is using a personal mobile hotspot instead of campus Wi-Fi or a wired connection
- Your device is on a specialized network segment not recognized as a standard campus address range
- A VPN from another organization is active, routing your traffic through a different IP
Try connecting to UB's campus Wi-Fi (eduroam) or a wired network port and reloading the page.
Most general IP lookup tools show the address your device presents to their internet service. A VPN, proxy, cellular relay, or different network route can cause two sites to see different addresses.
Check Your Internet Connection attempts separate IPv4 and IPv6 checks against configured UB service endpoints. IPv6 support is currently under construction, so IPv6 results may be missing or incomplete.
When both protocols are available, a device can use IPv4 for one destination and IPv6 for another. That can make two correct lookup results appear different.
Campus network
Campus refers to the University at Buffalo's network service at North Campus, South Campus, Downtown Campus, and other recognized UB locations. See the official UB campus maps for location information.
A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is the virtual network segment your device is using. UB can use VLANs to separate devices or services that have different access and security requirements.
Network Access Control is a system that manages which devices are allowed to connect to the campus network and under what conditions. When you connect, NAC may check requirements such as device registration or software status. When UB network systems provide the information, Check Your Internet Connection may show the connection policy or other NAC details associated with the device.
UBIT can protect devices that use campus DNS resolvers by blocking known malicious domains. The result shown by Check Your Internet Connection indicates whether the configured campus DNS security test appears active; encrypted or private DNS settings can affect the result.
Every time your device connects to a website, it uses a DNS resolver to translate the domain name into an IP address. This check estimates which provider answered the browser's test query.
Results can vary because of browser settings, encrypted DNS, VPN routing, cellular privacy features, or enterprise security software. A provider name by itself does not prove that a connection is secure or insecure.
The displayed provider may be derived from third-party IP and DNS data and can be incomplete or outdated.
Privacy & location
The application metrics feature stores aggregate counts and classifications rather than raw client IP addresses. Separate web server, reverse proxy, security, and operational logs may retain network information according to the production configuration and applicable UB policy.
Yes. The service and your browser may contact external providers while producing diagnostic results:
- ip-api.com - provides approximate public IP geolocation and helps identify the internet DNS provider and EDNS client subnet.
- ipify.org - checks the IPv4 address seen by an internet service. This can help identify split-tunnel VPN or campus NAT scenarios.
- OpenStreetMap or Google Maps - supplies map data when a location map is displayed, depending on the configured map provider.
- A configured test domain - if DNS security filtering is enabled, the browser attempts to reach a known test domain to determine whether filtering appears active.
An internet service can see the IP address used to contact it. Check Your Internet Connection uses the returned diagnostic information to display results, subject to the production configuration and applicable UB policy.
IP geolocation is a city-level estimate based on where an internet provider registered its address block - not your physical location or GPS position. A residential ISP may register its IP ranges at a regional office or data center, so your location might appear as a different city or part of the state. For recognized UB addresses, deployment-specific data may identify a UB campus or building when that information is available.
Yes, the service IP-API.com being used offers a data correction page for submitting requests.
Technical
The Print Report (PDF) button near the top of the home page generates a print-ready summary of the results available for your visit, including your IP address, connection classification, device information, and any campus network or connectivity details that finished loading. IPv6 information may be unavailable or incomplete while IPv6 support is under construction.
Clicking Print Report (PDF) opens a formatted page in a new browser window. From there, use your browser's Print function (Ctrl+P on Windows / Cmd+P on Mac) and choose Save as PDF as the destination. The resulting file can be attached to a request at support.buffalo.edu.
If a popup blocker prevents the window from opening, allow popups for this site and try again.
The Speed Test page opens Fast.com, a third-party internet performance test.
Results reflect your connection to the test provider at that moment. Network congestion, Wi-Fi signal strength, device performance, and VPN routing can all affect the numbers.
Both come from geolocation data associated with your IP address, but they describe different things:
- Internet provider is the company that sells you internet access - the legal business name registered as the owner of your IP address range. Examples include "Charter Communications," "Comcast Cable Communications LLC," and "AT&T Enterprises LLC."
- Organization is the entity registered as the operator of your specific IP address block with the regional internet registry. For home connections this is often a brand or subsidiary name (for example, Spectrum is Charter's consumer brand). For universities, businesses, and enterprises that manage their own IP allocations, it is typically the institution itself - for example, a UB campus address may show "University at Buffalo" or another related registry name as the organization.
The two fields are often the same or closely related for residential connections, but can differ significantly for business and campus users.
No. For security reasons, this tool only displays information about the client device communicating with it.