Sometimes you may need to use the university’s internal databases, directories or certain online services from outside the university (e.g., your home directory or SAP). In that case, you need to connect to the university network. For that, you need to establish a secure (encrypted) communication channel, a so-called VPN tunnel. The university offers several options to achieve this. With a VPN client, your home directory will appear as a network drive on your computer.
This guide includes the most important instructions related to remote access to university services. You can find more help from this instructions site by using, for example, the search. If you cannot solve the problem with the instructions, don’t hesitate to contact the IT Helpdesk.
Also read the following instructions: Connecting from outside university and Remote desktop.
Remote access to the services of University of Helsinki are also discussed in Student’s digital skills.
Table of contents
OpenVPN
- Using VPN in Cubbli (Cubbli User Documentation wiki, available in English)
- HY-VPN (home PC with Windows)
- Setting up a VPN tunnel with Tunnelblick (Mac) (in Finnish and Swedish)
Remote desktop
The University of Helsinki uses a remote desktop (VDI environment) used with VMware client software. You can also run other programs on the remote desktop just as you would on a conventional university workstation.
Installation instructions
NB! When using a remote desktop, close other vpn connections (OpenVPN) to avoid reserving two vpn licenses.
Remote access to home directory
You can access your home directory through a VPN tunnel while outside the university.
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