The UNSW Enterprise Remote Access VPN Service (or UNSW VPN) allows you to establish a secure network connection between an off-campus computer and UNSW networked resources such as computers and file servers, over the Internet. Using the UNSW VPN service, users can connect via their home broadband service or via external wireless hotspots in cafes, hotels and airports.

The VPN service is not necessary when accessing UNSW network resources that are generally available in public, such as UNSW’s web sites, or when you are physically on campus.

The VPN service is currently available to staff of the following faculties and divisions:

From time to time you may need to access UNSW networked resources while off-campus. You may be working from home, visiting another campus or on sabbatical. You may also be in a café or airport lounge that has wireless facilities. In these environments you may find you can’t access or even locate certain UNSW networked resources such as your work computer or your department’s file server. This is because you are trying to access these resources from a non-UNSW network. For security reasons many networked resources can only be accessed from inside UNSW, via the UNSW campus–wide network.

What the VPN service does is it creates a trusted connection to the UNSW network using secure encryption technology. It does this over whatever network connection you are using at the time, such as commercial broadband or wireless. Once this trusted connection is established, you should be able to locate and connect to your computers and file servers as usual.

You need all three of the following items in order to use the VPN service:

1. A VPN Client Configuration file
This is a small file containing the vital connection code associated with your faculty or division. Without this file you will not be able to connect to the UNSW network. Contact your Faculty or Division IT support group for this file (see VPN Support section below).

2. A VPN Account Username and Password
Once you have the configuration file (above) you will use either your existing UNSW staff ID and UniPass, or a separately supplied username and password to connect. Your IT support group will advise you of this when they deliver the configuration file.

3. The VPN Client
The VPN client is a small software application that connects your computer to the UNSW Enterprise VPN Service. The VPN Client, with the correct configuration file, creates the secure encrypted connection to the UNSW network. Download the client and instructions below:

Download the VPN installation instructions

Windows Vista/XP	PDF	660 Kb
Mac OS X	PDF	1.9 Mb

Download the VPN client (UniPass access, UNSW staff only)

Platform	Filename	Ver	Size
» Windows Vista/XP	vpnclient_win_v5.0.01.0600.exe	v5.0	10.2 MB
» Mac OS X (universal)	vpnclient_osx_v4.9.01.0100.dmg	v4.9	14.4 MB
» Linux (x86 64)	vpnclient_linux_vx86_64-4.8.01.0640.tar.gz	v4.8	2.0 MB

Who do I contact to get the VPN Configuration file, username and password?
Staff from these faculties/departments should contact the IT Service Desk:

Staff of faculties not listed above should contact their local IT Support group.

My faculty or division is not listed as being supported but I’d like to use the VPN Service
Contact your local IT Support group to confirm that they are not already covered. If they aren’t covered you can ask them to contact the IT Service Desk on how to join the service on your behalf. Note that this service is distributed via faculty and divisional IT support groups only and cannot be set up for individuals outside of these groups.

I’m having trouble installing or using the VPN client
Contact the IT Service Desk or your local support group.

My VPN client is working but I can’t connect to my local file server or other faculty networked service
Staff from these faculties/departments should contact the IT Service Desk:

Staff of faculties not listed above should contact their local IT Support group.