About VPN

VPN opens a secure 'doorway' from anywhere on the internet back to campus. Using VPN software on a remote computer, you'll establish secure access on top of an ordinary internet connection. When you make a VPN connection, two things happen:

  1. Data passing between the VPN server on campus and your workstation gets encrypted, meaning it keeps it safe from prying eyes as it pass through the internet.
  2. You will get an on-campus IP address. With VPN, your computer looks like part of the campus network, and is cleared to reach the system you want to use.

The underlying internet connection may be supplied by the University of Guelph or by any third party internet service provider such as Rogers@Home or Sympatico.

CCS currently provides two types of VPN service: IPSec VPN and WebVPN. The primary difference between the two is that an IPSec VPN session is secured via IPSec tunneling and an WebVPN session is secured using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. While SSL is not considered as secure as IPSec tunneling, SSL sessions remain an industry standard for encryption technology. WebVPN is conveniently available for Windows XP/2000/Vista/7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit), Linux and Macintosh OS X machines without the overhead of manually installing and maintaining IPSec client software.

Please be aware that IPSec VPN client does not support Windows XP/Vista/7 64-bit, neither Macintosh OS X 10.6 64-bit and higher. To avoid potential compatibility issues, CCS strongly recommends that all users install and use AnyConnect WebVPN client. 

CCS provides fully support for AnyConnect WebVPN and IPSec VPN Client software on Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista/7, but unable to provide support for Macintosh, Linux and Solaris, and can only offer the software on an "as is" basis. If you encounter difficulty, however, direct support may be available through Cisco by initially contacting the CCS Help Centre.

Traffic Encryption Policy

The purpose of the VPN service is to provide a secure way to communicate with systems on campus, rather than general internet connectivity. You can use this service from off-campus and from wired or wireless connections on campus. After you establish your VPN session, only data traffic to specific networks (based on the policies of the group you belong to) will be encrypted. 

 

There are several known issues with the IPSec and WebVPN clients. You may want to look at them before you begin or if you're experiencing problems with VPN, otherwise let's get started with VPN.