4.1 Share and Home Drives
Share (S:) and home (H:) drives are storage systems on the University network and are sometimes referred to as network drives. A shared drive is one to which multiple people have access. Each department has its folder and subfolders contained on the share drive. The department chair can designate which individuals or groups (faculty, staff, instructors) have access to the various folders within their department. Every employee has a home drive, their network drive, that they can use for as long as they are employed with the University. The UA security firewall protects these drives, and the data is backed up in real-time to Atlanta at a secondary storage facility. For directions on accessing the share drive via VPN, see https://etech.as.ua.edu/accessing-the- share-drive-via-vpn/.
4.2 UA Box
All faculty, staff, students, and instructors also have access to UA Box, an enterprise version of the Box document-sharing system. UA Box can share files and other documents among multiple individuals. However, because it is an enterprise version, UA Box is protected behind the firewall and thus can be used for sharing sensitive information such as job applications and student information. UA Box is HIPAA and FERPA-compliant. Information on how to set up an account can be found at https://oit.ua.edu/software/box/.
4.3 Microsoft OneDrive
All faculty, staff, students, and instructors can access OneDrive, a cloud storage and document-sharing system. Like UA Box, OneDrive can share files and other documents among multiple individuals. OneDrive is protected behind the firewall and thus can be used for sharing sensitive information such as job applications and student information. OneDrive is HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant. Information on how to set up an account can be found at https://oit.ua.edu/software/onedrive/.
4.4 Microsoft Teams
All faculty, staff, students, and instructors can access Microsoft Teams, a chat service that includes threaded chats, video conferencing, file sharing, and more. Microsoft Teams is available on the web and through desktop and mobile apps. All faculty, staff, students, and instructors can log into Microsoft Teams with their myBama email and password. More information on Microsoft Teams can be found at https://oit.ua.edu/services/email/microsoft-teams/.
4.5 DUO
DUO is a two-factor authentication system that provides additional security to our myBama, email, and VPN accounts. It works by requiring your username and password plus an additional source (phone, mobile device, or numerical passcode) to access the account. Please see https://oit.ua.edu/services/security/duo/ for more information on how to set up and manage a faculty or staff DUO account.
4.6 Virtual Private Network (VPN)
The virtual private network (VPN) allows faculty and staff to securely access systems on the UA network while using a public network connection. The following list describes when it is typically necessary to connect to the VPN.
- The VPN is necessary to remotely access faculty or staff office systems data from off-campus using a desktop or laptop. Remote desktop protocol (RDP) is necessary to log into the faculty or staff office computers on or off campus from another computer.
- When faculty or staff who usually use University laptops are off campus, they must connect to the University network through the VPN to access shared folders/files. No RDP is necessary.
- Connecting to the VPN when using a computer off campus to access folders/files on an office PC or folders/files on the share drive or home drive is necessary. To do this, the faculty or staff should log into VPN and then into RDP.
- Email can be accessed through any web browser at outlook.office.com. No VPN connection is necessary for this connection; however, this connection will not provide access to local files or files on the share drive, and the user will need DUO to log in.
- Self-Service Banner and Banner INB can be remotely accessed without a VPN.
- A faculty or staff can use remote desktop protocol (RDP) to access files on a campus computer from another computer located on campus.
- Sometimes, users may access servers using Secure Shell (SSH) through the VPN.
Individuals can set up a VPN connection on their home computers using the directions at https://oit.ua.edu/services/internet-networking/vpn/.
To access the VPN through a mobile device (iPad or phone), faculty and staff must download the AnyConnect app. The server address is webvpn.ua.edu/campus, and it will require UA login credentials to connect.
DUO is required to access the UA VPN. For more information, see https://oit.ua.edu/services/security/duo/.