Month: February 2017

Library VPN: A new tool to power research for UNSW Staff and Students

Posted on by Peter Wells

Library VPN was set up so UNSW staff and students could access library material that, due to copyright reasons, can only be accessed from UNSW’s network. Connecting to Library VPN, you can access UNSW Library resources and websites as if you were physically located on campus.

Connecting to Library VPN opens you up to a world of information and research, wherever you are. Complete your research through online eJournals, and access to hundreds of databases, from Access Engineering through to Zoological Record.

Browse through thousands of documentaries, television shows and movies available to stream. Listen to huge catalogue of music, complete with composer and artist biographies, notes and sheet music, to expand your understanding of the arts.

And as the first “full traffic” VPN offered by UNSW, you can use Library VPN overseas to browse the web like you were still in Australia. That means you can continue to use Google’s services in China, continue to use social media in Egypt to connect to your team back home, or to simply watch ABC’s iView to stay informed on events back in Australia while overseas.

To connect your devices to the Library VPN, use the following guides:

 

You should note that when connected to the Library VPN, all internet traffic will be sent through the VPN. This can, in some cases, impact the speed of your internet connection. All traffic will also be logged by UNSW, just as the traffic on UniWide is logged.

Office 365 at UNSW – Your Data Stays in Australia

Posted on by Peter Wells

One of the most asked questions about Office 365 and OneDrive cloud storage here at UNSW, from professional staff, students and academics, is where exactly will the data be stored?

It’s a fair question. Data sovereignty is a major concern for many academics, as some research grants will require all research data to stay in Australia. Storing research in”the cloud” can make this difficult, as it’s often hard to tell where exactly the servers that make up a cloud offering are based, and many providers will mirror your data across multiple servers in multiple countries.

Well, the good news is all data stored in Office 365 and OneDrive accounts linked to a UNSW account will be stored right here, in Australia. Late last year, Microsoft moved all data from UNSW customers from servers in Singapore to servers here in Australia, ahead of the university wide roll out of Office 365.

When Office 365 is turned on on your account, you’ll be able to store any important data you need in your OneDrive account. UNSW staff and students will receive one terabyte of storage, enough for roughly 85 million word documents. And because that data lives in the cloud, you’ll be able to access it from anywhere, including your home or mobile devices.

Microsoft has over twenty years experience storing and securing data for enterprise and government customers. We chose Office 365 as our cloud solution at UNSW due to Microsoft’s commitment to privacy, security and data sovereignty.