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Note: For general information about transportation
and services available during the convention week, see the MIT
during the DNC home page. |
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IS&T
Spotlight:
Connecting from Home during the DNC? Prepare and Test!
• Nate Herzog
If you plan to work from home while the Democratic National Convention
(DNC) takes place in Boston (July 26-29), now is the time to make
sure your computer is up to the task. The Computing
Help Desk strongly encourages you to test your Internet connection
and any MIT network resources you use before you begin working
at home.
MIT network resources include (but are not limited to):
- Sending and receiving email
- Frequently accessed MIT web pages
- Your calendar, especially if you use MIT TechTime
- File transfer to Athena or other file servers on campus
- Athena dialup or terminal connections
If there are other things you routinely do from your on-campus
office, you may want to try them from home if you think you will
need to perform these tasks remotely.
If you have not yet renewed your MIT personal certificate, or
do not have one installed on your web browser at home, you may
want to do so now. You will need it to access secure web services
on campus, such as SAPweb or ECAT. Information about web certificates,
including getting and renewing them, can be found at the Certificates
at MIT page.
High-Speed Options from Home
Any Internet Service Provider (ISP) should allow you access to
most of MIT's network resources. However, some network connections
have been problematic from home.
While not always necessary, we encourage you to use MIT's Virtual
Private Network (VPN) service when you work at home. VPN is a program
that creates a private connection to the MIT network and assigns
your home computer an internal MIT network address. This greatly
reduces the likelihood of encountering problems when accessing
MIT network resources.
You can download VPN for different platforms online.
Installation instructions are included on the web pages. Please
install and test the VPN connection along with the MIT network
resources you use before you start working from home.
If you wish to obtain high-speed Internet access, please contact
your local phone or cable provider. Before you do, you may want
to review IS&T's advice
regarding high-speed remote access.
Installation and configuration of high-speed access may require
more time than you have between now and the DNC. Consult with your
local provider to ensure that your connection can be installed
and tested in plenty of time.
If You Dial in to MIT from the 617 Area Code
MIT provides Tether, a modem dial-up connection service, for
those living in the Boston area who need to connect to the Internet.
This service costs $10/month and is available to faculty, staff,
and students. You can sign up for a Tether account online.
Note that all new Tether account requests take 48 hours to process.
For information about configuration and use, see the Tether
Service at MIT page.
Many Tether connection problems can be traced to older, noisy
phone lines that were strung before modem connections became popular.
Poor line quality can make modem connections unreliable and may
even prevent the modem from connecting. We strongly encourage you
to test both your Tether connection and any MIT network resources
before you start working from home.
If Tether disconnects frequently, setting your modem at a slower
connection rate may increase connection reliability.
If You Dial in to MIT Outside of the 617 Area Code
MIT provides iPass, a fee-based remote access service that can
connect your computer to the MIT network through a dial-up number
local to your particular area. iPass is available for MIT faculty
and staff, but not yet for students. You can sign up for an account
at the iPass account signup
page [certificate required]. New iPass accounts should process
immediately upon registering.
iPass is billed on a per-call basis rather than a monthly charge.
Information on iPass billing rates can be found at the Rates
for Connection page.
For more information about getting and using iPass, go to the iPassConnect
at MIT page.
We strongly encourage you to test both your iPass connection
and any MIT network resources before you start working from home.
Software
Make sure that your home computer has all the software you need
for your work. You can obtain some MIT software online at the MIT
Software Distribution page.
If you need any applications not listed on these web pages, such
as Microsoft Office or FileMaker, you may need to purchase these
separately. If you do have to purchase any software, be sure to
obtain it in advance so you have time to install and test it.
Questions?
If you encounter problems when testing
your setup at home, work with the Computing
Help Desk (617.253.1101) to resolve
them. Do this as far in advance as you
can, so that your work-at-home experience
is a productive one.
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