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Documentation

Off-Campus Computing for Mac OS X

Introduction

If you live off campus, you have a choice of how you will access the University at Buffalo's computer systems and the Internet. You can pay for a third-party Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as Time Warner Road Runner or Verizon, and connect to UB through a secure tunnel, or you can use a modem and dial in to UB's modem pool.

There are UB modems that students can use to dial in to UB directly. There are separate modem dial-up numbers for Erie County (UB is located in Erie County), most of Niagara County, and for select areas in Niagara county, including Middleport, Gasport, Newfane, Barker, and parts of Lockport. When you use the number appropriate to your area, the cost for each connection is usually equivalent to the cost of a local phone call. Check with your local telephone service provider to ensure that you select the correct number for your area, and to learn its cost. Rates can vary depending on your location, service provider, and telephone plan.

UB provides a VPN (Virtual Private Network) client to allow for a secure tunnel to UB from third-party Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Adelphia or Verizon. The UBVPN Client allows you to access shared server files or campus resources as if you were directly connected. You should not run the UBVPN client if you dial directly into UB's modem pool.

Firewall Issues

If you are running a firewall or a router for a home network, you must allow the following types of traffic to pass through: UDP port 500 (ISAKMP), IP protocol 50 (ESP), and UDP port 4500 (for use with NAT-T, for users utilizing NAT).

Using UBVPN to Connect from Third-Party ISPs

1. Connect to the Internet using a third-party ISP.
2. Launch the UBVPN Client by clicking on an alias made during installation, or double-clicking on Macintosh HD, then Applications, and selecting VPNClient. If you receive an error stating the VPN daemon could not be started, or the kernel module is not loaded, verify that you are connected to the Internet via your third-party ISP. If the problem still occurs, reboot your machine and try again.
   
3. Select offcampus from the Connection Entry choices.
   
4. Click Connect.
5. A new window appears. Enter your UBITName and Password into the Username and Password fields, respectively. Click OK.
6. A UB banner will appear. Click Continue to connect.
   

UBVPN Session Timeout

The UBVPN session will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity for off-campus users, or 24 hours of use. If UBVPN times out and your IPSec connection is terminated, click OK and bring up the UBVPN window again.

Power management modes differ from OS to OS, and from laptop to laptop. When your computer goes into sleep mode, the wireless network card loses power and will drop your Internet connection with no warning message. You must stop and restart the UBVPN Client in order to reconnect.

Disconnecting from UBVPN

When you are finished accessing UB's network and want to disconnect from UBVPN, click the Disconnect button located on the top left-hand side of the UBVPN screen. (It is located in the same spot that the Connect icon was located.)

Uninstalling the UBVPN Client

To uninstall the UBVPN Client, launch the Terminal, located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. When the Terminal opens, type:
sudo /usr/local/bin/vpn_uninstall

Enter yes and press Return to uninstall the UBVPN Client.

Enter yes and press Return to remove all profiles and certificates.

The UBVPN Client will uninstall. When it is complete, you can close the Terminal.

Connecting to UB from AOL

To access UB from your AOL account, you must first connect to the Internet using AOL, and then register your IP address using your web browser by entering telnet://remote.buffalo.edu. If you only need access for a week, enter your UBITName into the Username field, press Return, then press Return again. If you need access for more than one week, enter your UBITName into the Username field, and press Return. Enter c and press Return. Insert the first two parts of the IP address displayed at the start of your session and press Return. Enter the number of weeks for which you want access (up to 12 weeks), and press Return.

Configuring the Network for PPP

1. Select System Preferences from the Dock, and click the Network icon.
2. Click Location. Select New Location from the pull-down menu.
   
3. Enter a name for the location (e.g., Off Campus) and click OK.
   
4. Click Show, and select Internal Modem from the pull-down menu.
   

Configuring the TCP/IP Stack

1. Click on the TCP/IP tab in the Network window. Click the Configure IPv4 pull-down menu, then select Using PPP. If you are using Mac OS X version 10.2, the Configure IPv4 option is labeled Configure.
    
2. Click once on the DNS Servers text box and remove any information already present. Enter the following DNS servers, pressing Return after each server:

• 128.205.1.2
• 128.205.106.1

3. Click once in the Search Domains text box and remove any information already present. Enter the following domain names, separated by a comma:

• buffalo.edu
• acsu.buffalo.edu

Configuring PPP

1. Click on the PPP tab in the Network window.
   
2. Enter UB into the Service Provider field.
3. Enter the appropriate telephone number for your location into the Telephone Number field.
   

You should confirm your local dial-up number with your telephone service provider. The University at Buffalo is not responsible for any long distance or regional dialing charges if you use an incorrect number.

4. Enter your UBITName into the Account Name field.

Note

Your UBITName is your UB username. You do not need to enter your Password into the Password field.

5. Click the PPP Options button.
6. Select the box labeled Connect automatically when needed. Make sure that the boxes labeled Send PPP echo packets and Use TCP header compression are both selected, and that the Use verbose logging box is not selected. Make any other configuration changes you want and click OK.
   

Dialing In Using Mac OS X

You need to follow these steps each time you want to use UB's modem pool to connect to the Internet and use software such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Fugu, or Mulberry. If you want to drag the Internet Connect icon to the Dock so it is always readily available for connecting to the Internet, you may do so.

1. Open the Internet Connect application, located in the Applications folder.
   
   

Note

If you have a laptop and use multiple locations, you should check your Network settings under System Preferences to confirm that your current location is set correctly for this connection.

2. Make sure that your UBITName appears in the Account Name field, and that the correct phone number appears in the Telephone Number field. Click Connect.
   

3. Enter your UBIT Password into the Password field, then click OK. You are connected when an IP address appears in the Status field.
   

Note

If your password is more than 15 characters long, the system will not be able to authenticate your login via dialup.

4. You will connect automatically and can now start any applications through PPP. Your connection will disconnect after 30 minutes of inactivity or 24 hours of use.

Disconnecting from PPP

You need to follow these steps each time you wish to disconnect from the Internet and end your session.

1. Close all applications that are using the PPP connection. Select Internet Connect from the Applications folder.
2. Click Disconnect. You are now disconnected from the Internet.

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