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UF Health University of Florida
IT Department College of Pharmacy
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HELP Overview

VPN Connection

To use many of the College of Pharmacy and Academic Health Center (AHC) resources, you will need to be connected to the AHC network. As you may not always be on campus, AHC’s IT department provides a VPN service that will help you access these resources from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.

VPN stands for “virtual private network” and the service provided by AHC allows you to have direct, encrypted, and secure communications from your personal computer or laptop to the University of Florida’s Academic Health Center, including the College of Pharmacy. You will need to use the VPN in order to access such services as network share drives, remote desktop, or for some library resources.

Below are two ways to connect through the VPN, in no particular order. Typically only one is needed but it can be helpful to try an alternative should you have an issue connecting.

Cisco AnyConnect

Step 1: Install

  1. Go to the UF Gatorlink VPN Clients download page.
  2. Download the installer for your operating system.
  3. Run the program and follow the install instructions.

Step 2: Connect

  1. Open the Cisco AnyConnect app.
  2. Type the following in the connect box: vpn.ufl.edu
    vpn.ufl.edu server example
  3. Click “Connect” when ready.
  4. At the login screen, type: username@ufl.edu/health where username is your Gatorlink username.
    • Note: The “/health” is important, as it provides you access to protected UF Health resources that the normal Gatorlink VPN tunnels do not.
    • Please contact us at support@cop.ufl.edu if you have any trouble with the “/health” method.
  5. Enter your Gatorlink password as normal.
    • NOTE: If have been enrolled in Duo multi-factor authentication, you will need to approve a Duo push. If not, the connection should proceed as normal.
  6. You should then be connected to the UF Health VPN as normal.

Pulse Secure

Step 1: Install

  1. Go to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) Help Page.
  2. Download the installer for your operating system under the UF Health / Shands VPN links.
    • “Windows – 64 bit systems” for most COP machines
  3. Run the program and follow the install instructions.

Step 2: Connect

  1. Open the Pulse Secure client. You can usually find it in the quick launch area (bottom right for Windows, upper right for Macs) or in your list of applications.
  2. Click the plus (+) sign to create a new connection. Typically, we use the below settings:
    • Name: UF Health VPN
    • Server URL: vpn.ufhealth.org
  3. Click “Connect” when ready.
  4. Select “UFAD” at the realm prompt
  5. Enter your Gatorlink username and password.
  6. Click Connect.