The University of Michigan (U-M) provides remote access VPN (Virtual Private Network) service to all students, faculty, and staff. This VPN service provides a secure way to connect to the CAEN network from off-campus and obtain access to campus resources. There are three main benefits to why this makes connecting to CAEN easier and safer:

• The VPN provides an encrypted connection between your computer and the CAEN network, allowing secured transmission of data.
• Once the connection is established, the VPN is immune to Broadband provider (Cable and DSL) port blocking of Windows ports so that file sharing, Microsoft Exchange email & calendaring, and other Windows services are allowed to work.
• The VPN furnishes a U-M IP address similar to the way that one is obtained through campus Ethernet, DHCP, or wireless. This allows staff to access resources that are restricted to U-M IP addresses from off-campus.

The VPN is based on the same service used for CAEN Wireless, using the Cisco VPN client. If you already have the Cisco VPN client installed on your laptop for wireless use, you only need to install an additional profile to gain access access from home. Note: The VPN client that is built into Mac OS can be used for both on-campus wireless and off-campus remote access.

With several VPN services available at U-M using different clients and profiles, and running on different platforms, it may not be clear which VPN you should use or when you should use it. Below we provide a brief comparison of the VPNs on campus, their profiles, and their use.

Cisco VPN Client

There are many options for connecting to VPNs on- and off-campus using the Cisco VPN client. The client is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux, and separate profiles have been set up to allow the U-M community to connect to the campus network. They include:

• UM-on-campus-wireless - This profile is offered with the Cisco VPN client download for the UM Wireless network. It is meant to be used for on-campus, wireless use only, and provides a U-M IP address. This profile connects to a VPN that is operated by ITCom, and uses your UMICH.EDU (Kerberos) password for authentication.
• UM-off-campus-access - This profile is also offered with the Cisco VPN client for the UM Wireless network. It is meant to be used for off-campus, remote connections only, and provides a U-M IP address. This profile connects to a VPN that is operated by ITCom, and uses your UMICH.EDU (Kerberos) password for authentication.

Mac OS X VPN Client

The Mac OS X VPN client, which is already built into the operating system, can also be used for connections to campus. One simply needs a Kerberos configuration file (edu.mit.Kerberos) and the profile (CAENOSXVPN). The client can be used for both on- and off-campus connections to obtain an Engineering IP address, with no further configuration needed. This profile connects to a VPN server that is operated by CAEN, and uses your UMICH.EDU (Kerberos) password for authentication. For setup information, please refer to the CAEN Mac OS VPN page.

Quick VPN Comparison

The following table shows the differences between the VPN services and profiles available at U-M, and how they should be used to connect to campus. Questions regarding an individual VPN service should be directed the the Provider listed below:

Further Information

For more information on using the Cisco VPN client or the Mac OS VPN client with CAEN Wireless, please visit the CAEN Wireless web page at:

• http://www.engin.umich.edu/caen/network/wireless/

For specific information on the UM-on-campus-wireless and UM-off-campus-access profiles, visit the ITCom web page at:

• http://www.itcom.itcs.umich.edu/vpn/