Many people connect and access Bren Compute resources remotely. Starting Dec 15th 2015, we will be requiring that you connect via the UCSB Campus VPN first. There can be many benefits of using a VPN from your computer while you are remote.
- If you are accessing the Internet via a public wifi, connecting to a VPN encrypts all network traffic from your computer to the VPN endpoint (UCSB network in this case). This prevents hackers from trying to read your network traffic.
- You can access campus resources like Library journals, as you are connected via a UCSB network address.
- You will be able to connect to BREN compute resources including Snoopy and Woodstock our two terminal servers.
For Library access you can also use their Proxy Service CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
To learn more and install and run the VPN software, please visit the UCSB VPN website at http://www.ets.ucsb.edu/services/campus-vpn
Once you have connected to the UCSB Campus VPN, you will be able to access Bren remote desktop computers the way you have in the past.
If you are new to using remote desktop, a guide on connecting via remote desktop on windows is at http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/services/computing/applications/rdc_connect.htm
Disconnecting from the VPN or quitting your VPN application
Once you've used the VPN, you can choose to either disconnect the UCSB VPN connection or quit/exit the VPN application. Until you are comfortable with knowing whether you are connected to the UCSB VPN or not, we recommend you just quit or exit the VPN application after disconnecting.
An example of why you might not want to stay connected to the UCSB VPN after doing your "UCSB work", lets say you start watching Hulu, all that traffic would flow through the UCSB campus network first before getting to your computer. That would be a waste of Internet traffic going through UCSB.
Windows - VPN client - most common problem
Make sure you do this once after installing the software:
- right click on Pulse Secure client icon on desktop
- click properties
- click compatibility
- check the "Run this program as an administrator"
- click ok.
- now if you are already running Pulse Secure, you will have to exit it and restart.
The reason for this, is that most applications are running as a "general user" with limited privileges. But, Pulse Secure has to make changes to the system, and it needs to run as an Administrator to change the networking layer. If you don't do this, Pulse Secure gives you information that it has changed the IP address, but it hasn't (which can be confirmed by going to http://noc.ucsb.edu/ip).
An email announcing the new VPN service starting in February of 2017 is below -
******PLEASE GIVE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION******
February 6, 2017
TO: The Campus Community
FR: Kevin Schmidt, Acting Director of Networking, Communications & Security Services
RE: New Campus VPN Service
ETS is proud to announce the availability of a new and improved Campus VPN service. The new Campus VPN service replaces the previous OpenVPN-based service. The OpenVPN-based service will no longer be available to users after Monday, March 6, 2017.
The new Campus VPN service can accommodate a larger number of concurrent users and provides high availability/redundancy. It supports a greater variety of client operating systems, including mobile clients for iOS, Android, and ChromeOS, and it provides an easier client configuration experience.
Users connecting to the old campus OpenVPN-based service during the 4-week transition period will receive notifications and reminders to migrate to the new service.
Documentation about the new VPN service, along with instructions for installation and usage of VPN client software, is available on the ETS web site:http://www.ets.ucsb.edu/services/campus-vpn
Please report any issues, provide feedback, or ask questions to vpn-support@ucsb.edu