Using VPN

Audience: Franklin University Faculty and Staff that have been granted IT permission to access work resources using their University-issued computer off-campus. 
Disclaimer: The results and functionality of the following article only apply to the audience listed above.

Contents:

About VPN - When and Why We Use It

Instructions for Using VPN

VPN Troubleshooting

Why do we use VPN?

Establishing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to access secure information and applications while your University-issued computer is not physically connected to the University’s network.  

• A VPN connection is required to access the following services when not on campus: Colleague, CRM, OnBase, virtual phones, and more.
• VPN is not required for some web-based services such as Email, SharePoint, OneDrive, BlueQuill, and Canvas.

When and how to use VPN

1. My job requires regular access to VPN for services.

• When working remotely, use VPN during work hours as needed to access VPN-required services (listed above). Please disconnect when services no longer need to be accessed to minimize the load on the VPN system.
• Please be aware that idle connections are disconnected and you may find that you need to reconnect to VPN if your computer is idle or goes to sleep. We suggest disconnecting from VPN before your computer goes to sleep to avoid problems when reconnecting. 
• In cases where you are having trouble reconnecting to VPN after your computer went to sleep, please restart your machine. 

2. My job rarely or never requires access to VPN and I regularly work remotely.

• For extended remote work, make sure to connect to VPN at least once or twice a week for several hours in order to receive all necessary software updates.
• Without a weekly VPN connection or on-campus network connection, your computer will become disabled and entirely unusable. If you don't use VPN regularly in your daily role, connect your computer overnight to VPN. In such cases leave the computer on and locked after connecting to VPN.

To request VPN access, CLICK HERE.

VPN Instructions

1. Establish a WiFi connection. 

2. Click the Networking icon located in the system tray in the bottom right of your screen. It will appear as a signal symbol if you are connected via WiFi (as in this example) or it will appear as a network cable plug if you are on a wired connection. Clicking the icon will expand the networking menu. At the top, you should see the different VPN options. 

3. Reference the above instructions to determine which connection you need to use. Select the appropriate connection and click Connect.  

Franklin VPN - Standard VPN to use from home

Frankin Inside VPN - Used for testing VPN connection while on campus

Franklin VPN DC2 - Used only by some IT personnel. 

Franklin VPN - Login - Standard VPN permissions behind a manual log in. Can be used after changing your password while remote. 

4. You should see the connection cycle through several messages and finally land on Connected. You should not need to input any login information, as you will automatically be logged in with the username you are currently logged into Windows as.

5. You should now have access to all internal Franklin resources.

VPN Troubleshooting

If you are having issues getting on VPN to connect:

1. Always restart your computer as the first troubleshooting step. Sometimes, old VPN sessions are not fully terminated, such as when you are disconnected from VPN as the computer goes to sleep. This can cause hangups when re-connecting. A computer restart severs those old sessions. It also can correct any issues if your WiFi driver didn't load correctly on the previous startup. 

• One way to avoid this error is to regularly log out of VPN when not using it, or your computer is inactive. 

2. Please make sure that you have established a WiFi connection. If unsure, please open a web page on your computer that you have not visited before to verify proper WiFi connection. 

3. Make sure to use the "Franklin VPN" option after connecting to your WiFi. Other VPN connections will not establish connection. You can use the "Franklin Inside VPN" connection when on campus for testing your VPN permissions. 

4. If you cannot access VPN, please contact the Help Desk. 

Wish to log a request with the Help Desk? Use your Franklin University username and password to login: Log A Request