Overview
The university's phone system supports the use of University issued IP phones whille off-campus. This is provided via the VPN connection the to university network.
There is an initial one-time setup procedure that must be completed before your phone can be used off-campus the first time. Please contact the IS Help Desk for assistance with this initial setup process. This article will explain the process used to switch your university IP phone between on-campus and off-campus use.
Pre-requisites for using a VPN phone:
- You must have high-speed internet access at the location where you intend to use the phone
- Conventional ISP dial-up access will not support a VPN phone
- You must have a wired ethernet port available for your VPN phone to plug into; the phone will not connect to a wireless network
- If the VPN phone will be permanantly placed at home
- Your university extension must already be on an IP phone
- Your remote VPN phone is mutually exclusive wtih your desk phone
- Your extensiion cannot be active at both locations. You will need to log into the phone you wish use, which will automatically log your extension off of the other phone.
- You must have a network switch capable of providing POE power to the phone. If you do not, the university can help with selecting a POE injector that will connect between your network port and the phone, to power the phone device. The POE injector provides power-over-ethernet for the phone. It will have a plug that goes to an electrical outlet on the wall, and two ethernet ports (RJ45) for the LAN and phone connections; one port will be labeled 'data' or 'LAN', and the other will be labeled 'data + power' or 'POE'. The 'data' or 'LAN' port will be connected to your homes router, the other port will be connected to the phone.
It is important to reboot (unplug and re-plug) your phone at the beginning of each day. The VPN will automatically disconnect the phone after 24 hours, even if you are in the middle of a conversation.
VPN Phones should not be used for 911 Emergency calls. Dialing 911 on a VPN phone will ring to the University of Richmond Police Emergency line; not your local jurisdiction. University of Richmond Police cannot respond to emergencies at your remote location.
Details / Instructions
Any currently deployed university IP desk phone can be used as a VPN phone. It is pre-configured, and a simple process can be used to toggle the phone between on-campus use and remote VPN use.
While your phone is in your office and still connected to the University network you should reboot your phone by unplugging the top cable from the rear of the phone and plugging it back in. During the boot process the phone will download the most recent configuration file from the phone system, which will ensure that it has the most up-to-date settings. Once your call appearances re-appear on the phone, you can proceed with taking the phone home and making the changes described below.
Switching the mode of the phone:
- Switching to VPN mode:
- This should be done once connected to the remote network. If on campus: Information Services has a few places where this process can be completed.
- Once plugged in, the phone will begin its boot-up process
- When "* To Program" appears in the lower left corner, press the '*' key on the keypad
- The phone will then prompt: "Enter Code:", enter 876 using the keypad (VPN)
- This enters the phones VPN configuration menu
- The top option is VPN status - pressing the button beneath the word 'Change' will toggle the VPN status between 'Enabled' and 'Disabled'
- 'Enabled' means the phone will be in VPN mode, for use off-campus
- 'Disabled' means the phone is in standard mode, for use on-campus
- Press the right navigation button to scroll through the VPN config menus until Exit is shown in the bottom right
- Press the button beneath the word Exit
- The phone will now reboot
- After rebooting, the phone will connect to the university's phone system, through the VPN, and display the extension login screen
See Also
Logging into your university IP phone