Configuring Linux to Utilize VPN Resources at UM-Flint

A VPN or “Virtual Private Network” is a private network that uses a public network (usually the Internet) to provide students, faculty, and staff with a secure connection to campus resources from home.  Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as an Ethernet connection, a VPN uses secure, encrypted, “virtual” connections tunneled through the Internet from the University of Michigan-Flint private network to the remote computer.

Intended Audience:

This article is intended for current students, faculty, and staff who would like to learn about the VPN services offered at the University.

Requirements

Accessing the web portal resources through https://vpn.umflint.edu, as shown below, will work on most operating systems and has been confirmed to work in the browsers listed below. This does not mean that it won’t work in other browsers, but that we have verified functionality in the following browsers.

• Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari

NOTICE TO LINUX USERS: Any Java-based components (Terminal Sessions being the major one) of the VPN are subject to the configuration of your local Java installation. The ITS Helpdesk may not be able to assist with these questions.

Signing into the VPN Web Portal

1. In one of the web browsers listed above, please navigate to https://vpn.umflint.edu.
2. Login to the University of Michigan – Flint SSL VPN using your uniqname and current password as credentials.
3. Click the grey Sign In button.
4. Upon loading the first time, you may be prompted to install a Java Applet. Please allow this installation.  You will only be prompted for this the first time you use https://vpn.umflint.edu in a new browser.
5. You should now see the main navigation page of the web portal. In the sections of this article below, you will find descriptions about the features and resources available upon logging into the web portal.

Launching Pulse Secure using Debian

1. Navigate to https://vpn.umflint.edu.
2. Download the relevant Linux VPN desktop client software depending on the version you use
   1. Note** it has been tested on Buster (10.2)**
3. To install the Debian client, cd down to your Download folder
   1. Then run the command:
      1. sudo dpkg -i pulse-debian.deb
   2. After unpacking it with dpkg (step 1):
      1. cd /usr/local/pulse/
   3. Once inside this folder, run this command to connect:
      1. ./pulsesvc –h vpn.umflint.edu –r “Domain Users Realm” –u [uniquename *remove brackets*]
   4. After the password prompt appears, enter your current password and press Enter.
   
   5. It will appear as though nothing happened but you will then need to open a new session/window to utilize campus resources.

Launching Pulse Secure using RHEL

1. Navigate to https://vpn.umflint.edu
2. Download the relevant Linux VPN desktop client software depending on the version you use
   1. Note** On the Redhat version this is tested up to the version 8 x64 bit only**
3. To install the RHEL client, cd down to your Downloads folder
   1. Then run the command:
      1. rpm –ivh pulse-rhel.rpm
   2. Then install the file dependencies by running this command:
      1. usr/local/pulse/PulseClient_x86_64.sh install_dependency_packages
   3. Now Pulse should be ready to run. To run it, run the command:
      1. cd /usr/local/pulse/
   4. Once inside this folder, run this command to connect with Pulse:
      1. ./pulsesvc –h vpn.umflint.edu –r “Domain Users Realm” –u [uniquename *remove brackets]
   5. After the password prompt appears, enter your current password and hit enter.
      1. It will appear as though nothing happened, but you will then need to open a new session/window to utilize campus resources 
   

Troubleshooting: 

If you have any questions or experience any issues with this article please visit or contact the ITS Helpdesk for assistance.

Location: 206 Murchie Science Building

Hours: go.umflint.edu/hours

Phone: (810) 762-3123

Email: flint.its.support@umich.edu