A VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides a mechanism whereby a machine outside of the CS department's trusted network can securely access the department's resources. Typically, users connect to the VPN when they have access to a high speed internet connection, i.e. a cable modem or another university intranet, and require access to departmental resources which are not typically provided outside the firewall.
Departmental VPN servers
The department provides an OpenVPN server. This server has two configuration types available for download: Browncs and Browncs-gateall. Browncs routes only traffic destined for a brown CS department IP through our VPN, leaving your computer to route other traffic as it sees fit. Browncs-gateall passes all traffic through the CS department. While browncs-gateall is not optimal for continual use, it does have some benefits over browncs - for example, if you wish to access Brown University Library services or other university-based web services.
Setup Overview
To use the Brown CS VPN, you will need to use your Brown account username and password (this is the same account you use to log into CS Deparment Linux systems).
After installing an appropriate OpenVPN client (see OS specific instructions below) download the Brown CS OpenVPN client certificate and config files.
Configuration Files
- Use <username>_browncs.ovpn when all you want to do is access Brown campus resources.
- Use <username>_browncs_gateall.ovpn when you want all network traffic to appear as though it originates from the CS department. This can be useful when accessing internet resources only available to Brown campus machines.
***The client certificates in these packages are specific to each user.***
Detailed Setup and Configuration
Windows Instructions
Mac OS X Instructions
Linux Instructions
Problems
If you've followed the directions here and still can't connect to the department's VPN, then contact our technical staff for help.
