Information on the Cisco VPN Client

The Cisco VPN Client is a third-party software program that needs to be installed on a users computer in order to use the Rutgers Network from off-campus. The Cisco VPN client, along with allowing users to connect to the VPN Server, also encrypts the communications. The Cisco VPN Client is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux operating systems.

The Cisco VPN Client can be downloaded by clicking on the appropriate link below and entering a valid Rutgers University NetID and password.

Important Information For Cable Modem and DSL Users:

The Cisco VPN Client uses the local computers IP address to encrypt the communication. For this reason users who connect to the Internet using DSL or a Cable modem (Comcast, Optimum Online, Verizon DSL..), and share access with multiple computers using a router may need to make the following changes to their router. Most routers allow you to forward specific types of connection to a specific computer. This process is called port forwarding. For use of the VPN, port 10000 will need to be forwarded from the router to the local computer.

Every brand of router does port forwarding in a different way. Information on how to do port forwarding should be available in the documentation that came with the router.

Users who use a router distributed by the Linksys company may need to upgrade the software on their router. Router upgrades for linksys producs can be found at:

http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp

Linksys also has documentation on setting up port forwarding with a Linksys router. This documentation can be found at:

http://www.linksys.com/support/support.asp?spid=93

The documentation deals with the subject of port forwarding as a whole.Please remember that to use the VPN only forwarding port 10000 is required.