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There are several options available to both students and staff at CWU when it comes to accessing their network files from home or other remote location. The following are instructions for PC users on how to use the Wildcat Connection with NetStorage; access GroupWise mail on the web; set up and use the VPN client and once that is installed use the GroupWise mail and Messenger clients, setup and use WebDAV or the NetDrive client, and finally , instructions for setting up and using Remote Desktop.
If you are a staff member and plan on working from home, please review the work from home policy at http://www.cwu.edu/~hr/worklife/telework/telepolicy.html.
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Table of Contents
Wildcat Connection
The Wildcat Connection, also known as the Portal, is a way for any CWU student or staff to access their files and other services from the CWU network.
All you need to access these services is a valid CWU log in account and a computer with a modem, operating system and internet browser. CWU can act as an ISP (Internet Service Provider) by dialing into 963-8000 for students and 963-8002 for staff. For information on connecting to the CWU Resnet, check out http://www.cwu.edu/~its/its_apartment_dialup.html (note: these instructions are for students but can be adapted for staff).
These instructions assume you are already connected to the Internet either through your own ISP or through the CWU dial-up connection (see above).
- Open an Internet browser such as Internet Explorer.
- Go to http://www.cwu.edu.
- Click on the Wildcat Connection
 logo.
Note: Depending on the browser you are using and its security settings, you may get a message similar to the following from Internet Explorer.
- Check box In the future, do not show this warning if you don't want to see any more warnings and click OK .
The following screen appears.
- Log in with your username and Wildcat password
A message may appear asking if you want your browser to remember the password you just entered. It's a good idea to say “No” at this point since you'll have to change your password every 90 (180 for students) days but your browser won't know you've changed it and will try to use the old one.
- Check the box Don't offer to remember any more passwords and click No to continue.
The following Security Alert may appear.
- Check box In the future, do not show this warning if you don't want a notice about leaving secure connections, and click Yes to continue.
The following screen appears.
The first time you log into the Wildcat Connection, the CWU Intranet will try to display. It will need your username and Wildcat password in order to do so. You'll only have to do this once.
- Enter your username and Wildcat password.
- Click on any of the left side navigational links to display the contents (or go to a separate page) in the right pane.
Depending on your access, links can include the following:
Intranet: This displays the CWU Intranet as seen in the main GroupWise window for on campus PC users.
Safari: For faculty and staff to access PeopleSoft information. Students will see access to their student information (Financials, Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Progress, Records, Course Catalog, Enrollment, Schedule of Classes and more).
Employee Link: This opens a separate site where employees can see their payroll items, benefit information, and more.
GroupWise E-mail: This opens a separate site for GroupWise on the web. See the GroupWise Web section of this handout for more information.
Blackboard: A course management system with tools that enable instructors to provide their students with course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online assessments, and other features/tools for online courses or as supplements to face-to-face courses.
NetStorage: This displays your network drives in the right pane. See the NetStorage section of this web page for more information.
Accessing CWU Services from the Internet: Links and instructions for downloading and installing the VPN, GroupWise, Messenger, and file transfer options. The various options will be covered in more detail later on this web page.
My Favorite Shortcuts: Customize your Wildcat Connection experience.
Change Password: This changes your Wildcat password.
Portal Help: If you get stuck.
Connection Card Balance: Find out if you have enough money for B&G on Friday.
Sponsor Guest Account: Create temporary accounts for official CWU guests.
Whenever you are logged into a connection such as this, it's a good idea to find the link to log back out. In the case of the Wildcat connection, there is a Logout text link at the top of the page.
- Click on the Logout link.
The original log in screen displays.
You can now close your browser window.
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NetStorage
The advantage to Net Storage is anyone with a CWU account can use it to access their network files from anywhere, with any type of computer without having to install anything extra. NetStorage is available through the Wildcat Connection.
- Log onto the Wildcat connection from the CWU Home page.
- Click on the NetStorage link on the left.
Depending on which browser you are using and its security settings, you may get a notice about accepting pop-up windows. Follow whatever instructions the window provides to allow pop-ups from this site. You may also get a security alert to let you know you are about to view a page with secure and non-secure items.; you want to view both.
Once you've gone through the various security warnings, your network file access should display in the right-hand pane.
Note: Check with the Portal Help link on the left menu if you run into any problems or call the ITS Help Desk at x2001.
- Click on a plus sign in the middle pane to expand the drive/folder contents.
- Click on a drive/folder in the middle pane to display its contents in the right pane.
To download a file to work with,
- Click next to the file to place a check mark in the box.
- Click on the File menu and select Download.
- Choose your file location and Save.
- Select the drive and folder where you want to upload the file to.
- Click on File, Upload.
- Browse to find the file you want.
- Click the Upload button.
Note: If you want to upload multiple files, click on the plus sign next to the Browse button and another File row will appear.
You can open a file directly from within NetStorage but it will open in your browser window so you won't get the menus and toolbars from the program associated with the file. It is possible to make basic changes to the file and save though. At least it is using IE 6.
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GroupWise on the Web
One of the reasons GroupWise was chosen for use at CWU was the ability to access your GroupWise account via the World Wide Web using the browser of your choice.
When you are away from the office, either at home or on the road, you can access your GroupWise e-mail and calendar and it doesn't matter what type of computer you have.
If you are logged into the Wildcat Connection, you'll see a GroupWise Email link on the left navigation pane. You can also go to the site directly at
https://gwweb.cwu.edu
Searching the CWU web sitewill also lead you to the log in screen.
- Once at the log in screen, type in your CWU username and Wildcat password.
Most of the functions you can do with the client (local) version of GroupWise can be done here. The speed depends on your internet connection.
- Click on the black drop-down arrow on the New button to create new Mail, Notes, Tasks, etc.
- Click on a mail message in the right hand pane to open and read.
- Click on the Calendar tab to display its contents.
The Day view displays first by default.
Use the black arrows next to the Today button to navigate behind or ahead days, weeks, months (depending on which view you are in is how far you'll move).
Use the view buttons (Day, Week, Month) to change the display.
- Click on the Logout text link to log out of GW Web.
For help on using GroupWise on the web, please visit the GroupWise help pages at:
http://www.cwu.edu/~itstraining/GWHelpPages
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The VPN Client
Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can turn your home computer into a work computer. Once the connection is established, you can download applications for running the GroupWise and Messenger clients, and other utilities to access your network drives faster than with NetStorage.
Note: You need to install the VPN client first before being able to use any of the other programs or utilities.
- Log onto the Wildcat connection and go to the VPN client download section under Accessing CWU-Net Services .
- Read all of the instructions provided for Windows users.
- Click on the hyper link to download the Windows VPN client.
A window appears asking what to do with the file.
- Click Save and when the Save As box appears, choose an easy to find location such as the Desktop.
Once the file is downloaded,
- Log out of the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed.
- Locate and double-click on the vpn.exe you downloaded in the steps above.
This is a zipped file and you will be prompted to Unzip it.
- Click OK once that's done and follow the instructions the ensuing wizard prompts you for. All default selections should work fine.
- Restart your computer once installation is complete.
Tip: You may delete the vpn.exe file you downloaded from the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed and will just take up space on your hard drive. If you need to reinstall for some reason, you can always download it again.
For assistance with downloading and installing, please contact the ITS Help Desk at x2001.
Once the program has been installed and you've restarted your computer,
- Click on Start , Programs , Cisco Systems VPN client, VPN client .
- Click on CWU Staff VPN , then click on the Connect button.
The following dialog box appears.
- Enter your full context log in, including a period at the beginning, and your Wildcat password.
Note: The full context log in name gets saved so the next time you log on, you should see it there already.
Once connected, the Status bar shows:
You are now ready to run any of the CWU networking programs such as Web DAV, Net Drive, GroupWise, etc.
When you are done with your work,
- Right-click on the VPN padlock icon in the system tray (see picture above).
- Select Disconnect from the shortcut menu.
The locked icon will change to an unlocked icon.
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GroupWise and Messenger
Note: You cannot run either GroupWise or Messenger without the VPN client. See instructions above for VPN download/install/ and usage instructions.
- Log onto the Wildcat connection and go to the GroupWise client download section under Accessing CWU-Net Services .
- Read all of the instructions provided for Windows users.
- Click on the hyper link to download the Groupwise 6.5.4 client for Windows.
A window appears asking what to do with the file.
- Click Save and when the Save As box appears, choose an easy to find location such as the Desktop.
Once the file is downloaded,
- Log out of the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed.
- Locate and double-click on the SetupIP.exe you downloaded in the steps above.
The program will install and an icon will appear on your desktop once it's done.
You may want to restart your computer.
Tip: You may delete the SetupIP.exe file you downloaded from the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed and will just take up space on your hard drive. If you need to reinstall for some reason, you can always download it again.
After you've installed the program and restarted your computer,
- Make sure you are connected to the network via VPN.
- Double click on the icon that has appeared on the desktop or go through the Start menu.
The program will look and run just like it does from a campus computer. Exit the program as you usually do.
Note: You cannot run either GroupWise or Messenger without the VPN client. See instructions above for VPN download/install/ and usage instructions.
- Log onto the Wildcat connection and go to the Novell messenger download section under Accessing CWU-Net Services.
- Read all of the instructions provided for Windows users.
- Click on the hyper link to download Windows Messenger.
A window appears asking what to do with the file.
- Click Save and when the Save As box appears, choose an easy to find location such as the Desktop.
Once the file is downloaded,
- Log out of the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed.
- Locate and double-click on the nvlmsgr.exe you downloaded in the steps above.
- An install wizard will appear to guide you through the installation process. All of the default selections should work fine so just keep hitting Next until the program is done installing.
Unlike the other programs or utilities, your computer shouldn't require a restart after installing Messenger. It is ready to go as is.
Once the program has been installed and you are connected through the VPN client,
- Double-click on the Messenger icon on the desktop.
- Enter your username and Wildcat password.
- Make sure the server address and port under the Advanced settings read
server address -- gwim.cwu.edu
port -- 8300
You will only have to do this once.
The program will look and run just like it does from a campus computer. Exit as usual.
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WebDAV
Web DAV is a way to have Windows map (connect) to your network drives. Once it's set up, you'll be able to see all of your network drives in a screen similar to the My Computer window. You can work with files directly this way with their associated programs; there's no downloading a file, working with it, then uploading as with Net Storage.
Note: Similar instructions are provided online under the Web DAV section of the Wildcat Connection.
- Double-click on My Network Places either on the desktop or on the Start menu.
- Double-click on Add a Network Place.
A wizard appears to walk you through the process.
- Where it says to type in the location of the Network place, enter
https://netstorage.cwu.edu/oneNet/NetStorage
The following screen will appear.
- Enter your CWU username and Wildcat password.
- A screen appears asking what you want to name your new network place; follow the rest of the wizard's instructions.
- Make sure you are connected via the VPN.
- Double-click on My Network Places.
- Double-click on the folder you created in the steps above (the default name is netstorage.cwu.edu)
- Open and save files here just like you would to your local drive.
Note: You may occasionally get prompted for your username and password when opening or saving files.
As soon as you disconnect from the VPN, your Web DAV access will also disconnect.
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NetDrive Access
NetDrive works the same as Web DAV but instead of going to My Network Places, you can access your network drives just like any other drive through Windows Explorer or the My Computer window.
- Log into the Wildcat Connection.
- Go to Accessing CWU-Net Services from the Internet and click on the hyperlink to download the NetDrive client.
A window will appear asking where you want to save the file.
- Make your selection and Save.
Once the file is downloaded,
- Log out of the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed.
- Locate and double-click on the Netdrive.exe file you saved in the steps above.
Note: You may get a security warning about running the file but it is okay to do so.
The installation wizard will start.
- Accept all of the default options the wizard provides and accept the license agreement when it appears.
- Restart your computer.
Tip: You may delete the Netdrive.exe file you downloaded from the Wildcat connection as it is no longer needed and will just take up space on your hard drive.
After you've installed the program and restarted your computer, you should see a new icon in the system tray.
- You can either right-click on this icon and Open NetDrive or you can go through the Start menu and access it from the Programs menu.
A blank NetDrive screen appears.
- Click on the New Site button at the bottom left and fill out the fields as seen below (except with your Username and password).
The link in the picture above is hard to read but in the Site Address/URL field it should read:
https://netstorage.cwu.edu/oneNet/NetStorage
- Make sure you are connected via VPN.
- Click on the Connect button.
The Windows Explorer window will appear with the new “drive” installed.
You can also double-click on the My Computer icon, then double-click on the NetDrive  icon.
You can work with any of the files in these folders just as you would with files from your local hard drive.
- When you are done, you can right-click on the icon in the My Computer window and select Disconnect
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Remote Desktop
With Remote Desktop, you can control your work computer from home with your home computer. The advantage to doing so is if you have special programs on your work computer, you don't need to install them on your home computer as you'll be using your work computer, just from another location.
All you need to install on your home computer is the VPN client. Both computers have to be running Windows XP. A high-speed internet connection (DSL or cable) is recommended.
- At work, log in as usual.
- Right click on the My Computer icon either on the Desktop or through the Start menu and select Properties.
- Click on the Remote tab.
In the Remote Desktop section,
- Place a check mark in the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer box
- Make a note of the Full computer name as you will need it later.
- Log out of ( don't shutdown) your work computer. You may want to turn off your monitor to save power.
When you get back home,
- Connect to the network via VPN.
- Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Communications, Remote Desktop Connection.
- Enter your work computer's name followed by d.cwu.edu
For example, if your computer name is PC69680 then you would enter in the above box
PC69680.d.cwu.edu
Note: Your computer name may not read correctly in the System Properties dialog box as shown above depending on the type of computer you have (standard PC vs. Intel Mac). If you try the number listed and it doesn't work, please call the Help Desk at x2001 so they can look the number up for you.
The other desktop will display with a bar at the top that you can “minimize” to switch back to first computer.
In the remote computer screen,
The screen will disappear and return to your home computer's screen.
You can disconnect the VPN connection now as well.
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Page last updated 05/06/08. Send questions or comments to ITS Training.
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