WISER:Remote access to databases and datasetsThis session will help you to set up access to Oxford online resources from your home computer. The session will help you to identify which of several methods is most appropriate for your needs. Methods will include Athens passwords, Dial-up and the Virtual Private Network.

Judy Reading & Katherine Craddock

Outline of sessionThis session will cover:

A brief overview of the range of resources which you may wish to access from home.

An outline of how to find out which method is most appropriate for which resource

Instructions for how to set up access through each of the methods described.

OxLIPOxLIP (Oxford Libraries Information Platform) is a gateway to

hundreds of electronic resourceshttp://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/oxlip/

Includes: – catalogues – abstracting & indexing services– reference works – full-text resources– statistical resource – official publications– electronic journals – quality web resources– current awareness services

Free and subscription databases

Examples of DatabasesAbstract and Indexing Services: CSA (ASSIA, ERIC, LISA, Social Services Abs,

Sociological Abs, Worldwide Political Science Abs) IBSS (International Bibliography of the Social Sciences) WebSPIRS (EconLit, PAIS, PsycInfo)

Citation index: Web of Knowledge/Social Science Citation Index

Other: TDNet (Electronic journals) Catalogues Theses and Dissertations Other OXLIP resources Web resources

Remote access to electronic resources

If you are a member of Oxford University and are using a PC, Mac or Unix workstation within the ox.ac.uk domain you will be able to access most electronic resources without requiring a username and/or password.

If you want to access electronic resources from outside Oxford University you will need to register either for a personal Athens username and password or for the University's VPN Service, and in some cases both.

Athens The Athens authentication service allows the use of a

single username and password to access all electronic resources listed here http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/athens/resources.xml from any network connected computer.

To use the service you must register for an Athens personal account and set a password.

VPN: Virtual Private Network The great majority of resources are limited to the Oxford

Internet domain by IP address. This means that even if you can access them via Athens outside Oxford, when within the ox.ac.uk domain no login is required.

When working off campus, it is possible to be allocated an Oxford address through the University's Virtual Private Network (VPN) Service.

To use this service you must register for a remote access account and install and run VPN software on your computer.

How do you know what to use? OXLIP includes information about access to specific databases If you use VPN off campus you will have access to nearly all

electronic resources However, there are a few which are available through Athens only eg

Digimap, databases from ESDS (Economic and Social Data Service) International and specialist databases for Law and the Business School.

Athens does allow access to many of our resources (including some full-text journals -JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Ingenta and Blackwell Synergy are Athens-compliant).

But some resources are only available through VPN, including some of the full-text journals

Some networked CD-Roms require the download of “thin client software” – instructions are available – and you can email itsupport@ict.ox.ac.uk for help

How do you know what to use? General rules of thumb:

If you do not require Athens to access any of the resources you use when you are on campus, you should be able to use them off campus with VPN only.

If you do require Athens to use a particular resource on campus you will also need Athens off campus and may need VPN as well.

If you are having difficulties getting VPN to work, you may find that Athens gives you access to most of or all the resources you need. Alternatively a dial-up connection might provide a solution.

The Oxford Single Sign-On Account

This account is the key to remote access of digital resources

Everyone is assigned an Oxford single sign-on account when their first university card is issued

Once activated, the account gives access to Webmail and WebLearn as well as the Self-Registration Interface https://register.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ allowing:

registration for an Athens account registration for a Remote Access account the download of software such as VPN registration of machines for the central automated

backup system

Demonstration: Registering for and Using and Athens Account

More details about the Athens account can be found at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/athens/

A link to the self-registration page can be found on the OUCS home page www.ox.ac.uk

Once your username and password are active you can access all available services which use Athens authentication by going to http://www.athens.ac.uk/ and login at the "My Athens" button.

Demonstration: Setting up VPN More details on VPN can be found at

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/network/remote/ You need to both register for a remote access account and

download and install the VPN client software Available for Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista,

Mac OSX 10.2-4 (and all Intel Macs), Linux and Solaris 

Start the VPN software whenever you need access to Oxford electronic resources

How does VPN Work?

Researcher’s Laptop

VPN Server in Oxford

Confirms encryption and asks for remote access username and password

All further network communication travels via the VPN server with theoriginal IP address but disguised

Returns username and password and server assigns Oxford IP address

Changes to the assigned (Oxford) IP address

Contacts server with someinitial data and requestsan encrypted connection

Demonstration: Using VPN On Windows, click the Start button and look in the All

Programs list for Cisco Systems VPN Client On Mac OSX the Applications folder will contain VPNClient Software can be set to remember the password, but don’t do

this unless you are the only user of the machine

The Most Common VPN Problems Error Message: The remote peer is no longer responding

Indicates a firewall blocking VPN traffic. Required settings are: UDP Port 500, 4500 and 10000 open for send/receiveIP protocol 50 (ESP) allowed

Error Message: User authentication failed username/password provided are not what the server expects.

Password can be reset via the self-registration page password has changed since VPN client

remembered it. VPN will forget the password via Connection Entries Modify Erase User Password

For other problems try the online trouble-shooter: www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/helpcentre/troubleshooting/vpn/