Virtual Private Network (VPN)
The Florida Atlantic University Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure, encrypted connection between your device and the FAU network, and enables access to certain University resources from outside networks.
FAU's VPN supports Windows 10 and later, Mac OSX 11 and later, and newer releases of Linux including Ubuntu, Debian, and RockyLinux. If you would like to request VPN access, please open a service request at the FAU Help Desk.
open a service request
What is a VPN and how does it work?
Watch this brief video below to gain a general understanding of VPNs.
VPN Types
For FAU use, we have two types of VPNs. See which is best for you and your work.
Basic VPN
Basic VPN is applicable to most faculty and staff with University-owned and personally owned devices, and provides access to the following services:
- Remote access to on campus desktops, laptops, and non-public VDI infrastructure using Remote Desktop (RDP) or Secure Shell (SSH)
- Access to basic FAUANDI shares
- Access to Banner
- Access to export Workday reports
- Limited access to certain non-sensitive services
Advanced VPN
In some circumstances, additional approvals and justification will be required to be able to utilize the Advanced VPN based on user classification.
If the Advanced VPN is installed on a personal device, the Advanced VPN client will have access to data on the personal device. There is no expectation of privacy and FAU assumes no liability for damage to personal devices where the Advanced VPN is installed. For these reasons, the Advanced VPN is only permitted on University-owned devices except in limited circumstances. Employees cannot be compelled to install the Advanced VPN client on their personal devices.
How to Access FAU's VPN Network
Once your VPN access has been approved, please download & install the VPN Client Software installation file that is appropriate for your operating system. Be aware that while using the University's VPN:
- All of your traffic will be routed through FAU while you are connected. If you wish to do non-work tasks such as using streaming services, it is recommended that you disconnect from the VPN first for the best connection speeds to those services.
- This VPN does not provide direct access for system administration functions, or access to sensitive data outside of Banner and Workday. You will need to connect to an on-campus desktop or VDI session in order to access those resources.
- There is no session extension. You will need to reconnect when your session expires (10 hours). However, you may disconnect and reconnect as needed prior to the expiration of your session without having to re-authenticate.
Note: You must have multi-factor authentication enabled to use our VPN services. See details below.
Installation Instructions
Backup/Disaster Recovery VPN
A backup VPN is located at the Northwest Regional Datacenter (NWRDC). This VPN has the same access as the main VPN detailed above, but it may be used whenever the main VPN is not available or in a disaster recovery situation.
To utilize the backup VPN, modify the gateway to point to https://vpnnw.fau.edu as the connection URL. Please note that this backup VPN connection is slower than the main VPN connection so it should only be used when the main VPN is unavailable.
Note: VPN client upgrades are installed automatically from the server as needed after the initial client installation. These are necessary to keep the client software up to date.
