There are computer resources on campus that cannot be accessed from off-campus, such as Windows network shares and campus-restricted websites. And, uWaterloo staff who need to telecommute (either from home, or while travelling) can be impeded in their work by ISP restrictions or service limitations (such as email-message size limits or protocol blocks).

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a technology that allows a computer to be connected to the Internet as if it were physically located on campus. Once connected to a VPN server, all data for the uWaterloo campus is encrypted and sent via a "tunnel" through the Internet. The tunnel appears to the client as if it were located on campus, thus allowing access to all campus resources.

VPNs also serve as an important component in a broader network security architecture. The VPN project charter "Recogniz[es] that network-based access controls [...] reduce the risks of successful compromise, [but] they also create some impediments to the uWaterloo community using computing services over the campus network." A VPN service allows legitimate, authenticated users of the network to use the campus-based resources, and facilitates strengthening of network-border security.

The talk will highlight some of the basic motivations for a campus VPN service, and provide a demonstration of how to get connected to our new VPN service.