Remote Access for LAPD Users Using Aventail SSL VPN

Transcription

1 Remote Access for LAPD Users Using Aventail SSL VPN About Aventail SSL VPN This document describes how to access the LAPD network remotely, using a technology called SSL (Secure Socket Layer) VPN (Virtual Private Network). The Virtual Private Network is a method of creating and maintaining a secure connection over the Internet using an encrypted tunnel. When you login to access the Aventail appliance, you can imagine that a tunnel is created from your computer into the LAPD network over the Internet service you are using. No one else is able to see inside this tunnel, despite it running over the public Internet, because its contents are encrypted. The SSL portion stands for the secure browser technology that underlies this VPN, using the web protocol, https. You will see that the web browser addresses used while you access the VPN are always prefaced by the letters https. To Access Aventail The most commonly used method to access the LAPD network using Aventail is by using your web browser. Typically, you can use your Internet-connected web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) on either Microsoft Windows (XP or Vista) or Apple Macintosh (10.x). All you do is to enter the web address, into any browser to obtain the Aventail login screen. Once the Aventail Work Place site displays in your browser, you would access various Department applications by clicking on the links shown. Installation Tips You must be logged in as a system administrator on your computer. You may not be able to use Aventail on kiosk computers or those in hotel business centers that forbid the installation of personal software. Turn off any personal firewalls and pop-up blockers that are active on your computer, or configure them to allow Aventail software, and/or connection to the LAPD Aventail appliance. You should accept all requests for download and installation of Aventail software. Aventail is compatible with Windows 7. You can also use earlier versions of Windows, typically Windows XP or Vista. Note that certain LAPD applications, such as the Department s Infoweb page, are only fully compatible with Internet Explorer, and in the case of TEAMS II, only with Internet Explorer 6. For non-windows computers, you will need to have a version of Sun Java for a successful installation. Usually, you would find that at least one version of Sun Java is already installed.

2 Using Your Web Browser Launch your browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari). The instructions below show an example of accessing the VPN for the first time using Internet Explorer 8 on a computer with the Windows XP operating system. Type in the address field. The screen below will appear. After a moment, the screen on the next page appears.

3 Enter your LAPD LAN user ID (your serial number) in the Username field. Next, enter your LAPD LAN password in the Password field.

4 The above screen will be displayed. Click on the Install button. This will install software on your computer called Aventail Access Manager.

5 A popup (file download warning), shown below, will appear. Click on the Run button, and the screen below will appear.

6 Click the Run button again, and a progress window appears indicating that Aventail Access Manager is being installed. The screen below will appear, as another component called Aventail Web Proxy is also installed at the same time.

7 The one-time installation of the Aventail software components may take up to minutes, depending on the speed of your download connection. Please exercise patience. You can walk away from your computer during this part of the process until all components have been downloaded.

8 This is the Sonicwall (Aventail) WorkPlace. As you can see, this one is tailored for use by Command Staff. On this screen, you can click on any of the links without installing any additional software. This method of access is called web proxying (using the WorkPlace site as a proxy to access other Department sites).

9 When you are done, click Log out When you click Log out, the VPN session will end. Once logged out, please close your browser to exit completely from the tunnel.