Guide to Working from Home
In this guide we’ll walk through a number of tools that will help you work from home. This will be broken up into two sections—working with a college-issued computer and working from a personal computer. Any questions can be directed to the Helpdesk (ithelp@smcvt.edu, 802-654-2020)
College-Issued Computers
All college-issued laptops (both Windows and Macs) are equipped with the following software:
Pulse Secure VPN: Pulse Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows you to “trick” your computer into thinking it’s on campus. This allows you to access resources that are usually only accessible on campus, such as the Z and O drives, campus printers, and access to Colleague and other administrative software. Pulse can be launched from either the start menu (just search for “Pulse”) or via the icon in the task bar (a white script “S”). You simply need to log in using your Mikenet account and Pulse will take care of the rest. When you’re finished you can just open Pulse and choose “disconnect”.
VMWare Horizon: The VMWare Horizon Client allows you to connect to a generic SMC lab computer from any device with an internet connection. This software does not require the Pulse Secure VPN to function, so if Pulse is not working properly this is a good backup plan. This can be found by using the search in the Start Menu to search for “VMWare”. Open the program, select the proper server (should be the only option—if no options are seen, you’ll need to click the “+ New Server” option and enter https://desktop.smcvt.edu as the server address), and log in using your Mikenet account. After signing in you’ll see one or more of the following options: Lab Computer, Non-Persistent Employee Computer, or Persistent Employee Computer. Lab or Non-Persistent options are available to everyone and are dissolvable (meaning any software installed on these virtual computers is removed when you log off). Any of these options give access to your Z and O drives, printers, the Office Suite, and access to administrative software (Colleague).
Zoom: Zoom is a video conferencing software that allows you to hold meetings and share your screen with participants. Zoom can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, but in order to start a meeting you must have a Zoom Pro account. Luckily we have plenty of licenses for these accounts—if you don’t have one simply email ithelp@smcvt.edu and we’ll get your account set up. More information of Zoom can be found here: https://smcvt.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1996/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=71948 (or by using the search function on the IT portal page to search for “zoom”)
Campus Phone Systems
There are three options available for accessing your campus phone from off site. Call Forwarding is the simplest method, and will forward all calls to a phone number of your choosing. Soft Phone Software can be installed, which allows you to make calls from your office number via your laptop & headset. Single Number Reach can also be set up to ring both your campus phone and personal cell phone simultaneously. All of these options require some setup and configuration, so please contact the Helpdesk (ithelp@smcvt.edu, 654-2020) to schedule this work.
Personal Computers
Personal computers come in many flavors, so we cannot guarantee that all of these tools will work on every device. However the vast majority of devices will have little to no trouble using these tools.
Institutional Laptops
Institutional laptops that have been assigned to an employee can be used at home and will be supported by the helpdesk remotely. Please note that the removal of docking stations and monitors will not be supported. Beginning Monday, March 23rd the helpdesk will be open by appointment only on-campus for physical device issues. If you are an employee who needs access to VPN for administrative software such as Colleague you will need to reach out to the helpdesk to sign out an institutional laptop.
For assistance please contact ithelp@smcvt.edu or call 802-654-2020.
VMWare Horizon: The VMWare Horizon Client allows you to connect to a generic SMC lab computer from any device with an internet connection. This software does not require the Pulse Secure VPN to function. Installation instructions can be found here: https://smcvt.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1996/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=62315 (or by using the search function on the IT portal page to search for “VMWare”). Once installed this can be found by using the search in the Start Menu to search for “VMWare”. After signing in you’ll see one or more of the following options: Lab Computer, Non-Persistent Employee Computer, or Persistent Employee Computer. Lab or Non-Persistent options are available to everyone and are dissolvable (meaning any software installed on these virtual computers is removed when you log off). Any of these options give access to the Z and O drives, printers, the Office Suite, and access to administrative software (Colleague).
Zoom: Zoom is a video conferencing software that allows you to hold meetings and share your screen with participants. Zoom can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, but in order to start a meeting you must have a Zoom Pro account. Luckily we have plenty of licenses for these accounts—if you don’t have one simply email ithelp@smcvt.edu and we’ll get your account set up. More information of Zoom can be found here: https://smcvt.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1996/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=71948 (or by using the search function on the IT portal page to search for “zoom”). The Zoom client can be downloaded from here: https://zoom.us/download , and mobile apps can be found in your respective device’s app store.