| Technology Services |
Off campus access to files is the same for employees as it is for students. You may read the porcedure on the student's page As a Staff or Faculty you will have access to a broader range of files and folders when you log in.
One thing that is available to employees is the ability to log into a terminal server to access software and services not normally available from off campus. To use terminal services follow the instructions below.
Terminal Server
When licensing allows, applications are installed on the college Terminal Server to provide secure off-campus access so employees can run applications while off campus. A VPN session must be established to open a Terminal Server session. When a Terminal Server session is open, all the desktop computer is doing is relaying keyboard, mouse and display information between the server and the PC you are operating.
It is a good idea to practice using Terminal Server while on campus when technical assistance is available before trying it off campus.
Requests to install applications onto the Terminal Server can be sent to Tech Support through the normal Help Desk procedure.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Complete remote access to the campus network requires a virtual private network (VPN) connection. Establishing a VPN session gives your home computer access to campus network services.
It is important to remember when a VPN session is established ALL network traffic from your computer is sent to the campus network and ONLY to the campus network. This means the only services you can access and use are campus services until you disconnect the VPN session.
VPN sessions work over a dial-up connection, but the response can be slow. VPN works best over a high-speed connection like DSL or cable modem. The VPN does not work with ISPs that probe and monitor connection status (two large ISPs that are known to not work with VPN technology are AOL & CompuServe).
To get your home computer to connect to the VPN follow the directions here.
Opening a Terminal Server Session
Required Conditions
Two conditions must exist before a Terminal Server session can be established:
1. You must use a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system that has the remote desktop application installed (Windows XP Home and Pro have this automatically; it is available to install for older Windows operating systems)
2. The computer you are using must be connected to the campus network and be part of the campus network domain.With a few exceptions, the computers provided and supported by the college's IT department are part of the campus network domain. A VPN session can be used to temporarily connect a computer to the college's network domain. It is important to remember that while a computer is connected to the campus network with a VPN session you can ONLY access campus network services. For example, your web browser cannot access any web site except a campus web site unless the VPN session is disconnected.
Open a Terminal Server Session
1. Open the Remote Desktop Connection application. Remote Desktop Connection is a communications tool. The icon is located at Start button --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Communications --> Remote Desktop Connection
2. Enter "termsrv.inverhills.mnscu.edu" as the Computer (without the quotes) and click the Connect button.
3. Enter your campus username and password and click OK. Terminal Server can run in full-screen mode or in a window. Use the options in the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box to change the sessions to meet your preferences.
4. Find and run an application installed on Terminal Server the same as you would an application installed on your computer.
5. When you are finished using the Terminal Server session it is best if you LOGOUT instead of simply clicking the X to close the Remote Desktop Connection application window. Closing the window does not end the session on the server and your session will continue to use resources until the session is logged off.
