The intricate antique brass door knobs to the entrance of the original Meadows Museum.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Powered by Cisco Anyconnect VPN

The Virtual Private Network, or VPN, connection is used most when working off-campus. This connection will allow you to securely access specific resources that are restricted to the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøNetwork. This includes library resources, network storage drives, many applications, and intranet websites.

  • You must have an existing internet connection before connecting to 51³Ô¹ÏÍøVPN.
  • Connecting to the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøVPN allows access from an external ISP to on-campus internet and intranet resources (library resources, policies, internal sites, etc.).

Get Started

Installing the Cisco Secure Client (formerly AnyConnect) to establish a VPN connection.

  1. Click the Sign In button above.
  2. Log in with your 51³Ô¹ÏÍøcredentials.
  3. In the Cisco Secure Client Download window, click the Download button to save installation package.
  4. Run the installer package to install the Cisco Secure Client.
  5. An install wizard will start, click Next or Continue to walk through the steps.

For full walk throught with screenshots, please see the . 

Using the Cisco Secure Client (formerly AnyConnect) to connect to the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøVPN

Initiate an AnyConnect VPN session with the Cisco Secure Client to provide applications on your desktop with network access through 51³Ô¹ÏÍøVPN. For example, an AnyConnect session might be necessary to access services, such as Sitecore.

  1. Open Cisco Secure Client.
  2. Enter vpn.smu.edu.
  3. Click Connect.
  4. When prompted, enter 51³Ô¹ÏÍøcredentials.
  5. Click LOGIN.
  6. Authenticate with Microsoft Authenticator.

When it is connected, the app icon will have a closed (locked) padlock. 

macOS Users:

If using macOS, you will need to allow the VPN application in your Security & Privacy settings under System Preferences… before connecting.