Accessing Resources When Away From The Office

In preparation for the possibility of having to work remotely for some length of time, we have put together some information on how to continue to access certain university resources when you are not in your office.   The information below will hopefully help you maintain access to things like email, calendar, contacts, important files and voicemail that you likely use on a daily basis when you are in the office.  Also, there’s information on how to access protected university resources, and also information on how to use meeting software to maintain face to face interactions for meetings and teaching.

Accessing email, calendar, and contacts from home  

  1. You can log in via webmail at http://connect.rutgers.edu.  If you forget your login, it’s your_username@your_domain.rutgers.edu.  Replace “your_username” with your NetID, and “your_domain” with the primary email domain.  For most of us, it’s SEBS, NJAES, Marine, EnvSci, HSRL, EOAS, or CRSSA.
  2. Or, you could set up email locally on your home devices.
    1. PC or Mac
    2. Android tablet or phone
    3. IPad or IPhone

Checking your Voicemail from home

  1. If you have a Cisco phone: Dial 848-267-1400 and then press "*" to log in with your 5 digit extension and voicemail PIN.
  2. If you have a Cisco phone at RAR&EC, Ecocomplex, HSRL, Marucci, FIC South or Pinelands, dial 856-225-5800 and press "*".
  3. Either phone could be set to forward to your home number or cell phone number if you wish.  On a Cisco phone, you press FORWARD ALL, then the number you want to forward to as you would dial it from your phone.  For most numbers, this would be 8+1+ the 10 digit number. Cisco users can log in here to set up forwarding remotely. Users at RAREC, Ecocomplex, HSRL, Marucci, FIC South, or Pinelands can log in here to do the same. Login would be your NetID and password.
  4. If you have a university Cisco phone, you could request that email notifications are turned on when you get a voicemail if you like.  You can do so by opening a ticket here: tdtools.rutgers.edu/voiceservice/index.jsp.  There are two options, one to email you a copy of the actual voicemail message as an audio attachment, the other is to email you a notification of a new voicemail and you can dial in to listen to it.
  5. If you have a Cisco phone at RAR&EC, Ecocomplex, HSRL, Marucci, FIC South, or Pinelands, contact me or help@camden.rutgers.edu to request these notifications be enabled.

Webex, Zoom, and Teams for meetings, teaching and groupwork

    1. Zoom. This is the newest option available. The basic setup allows you to host traditional meetings of up to 500 people. A webinar option is available but requires several extra steps to set up. Contact Karl Lindauer if you want to get a Zoom Webinar license.
      1. If you plan on hosting a meeting and you have not yet done so, you need to activate your Zoom account.  Follow instructions here to activate your Zoom account.
      2. If you already have your account created, you can log in by going to http://rutgers.zoom.us and by clicking SIGN IN on the page that comes up.  From here you could start or schedule a meeting.
      3. If you prefer to be able to configure meetings right from inside your local copy of Outlook, log in via http://rutgers.zoom.us, click SIGN IN, then click DOWNLOAD under the Microsoft Office Plugin link at the bottom of that page.
      4. Mobile apps can be installed via the Google or Apple app stores if you want to use Zoom on your IOS or Android device.
      5. Add-in available for Outlook on the Web.
      6. Can be recorded

    2. Webex.   This may be the easiest option for running meetings or webinar style meetings.   This also allows dial in users via phone.  
      1. If you plan on hosting a meeting and you have not yet done so, you need to activate your Webex account.   Go to http://webex.rutgers.edu, and choose SIGN UP to create your account.
      2. If you already have your account created, you can log in by going to http://webex.rutgers.edu and by clicking LOG IN, then click SIGN IN on the page that comes up.  From here you could start or schedule a meeting.
      3. If you prefer to be able to configure meetings right from inside your local copy of Outlook, log in via http://rutgers.webex.com, click SIGN IN, then DOWNLOADS, and install the Cisco Webex Productivity Tools to allow integration into outlook.
      4. Mobile apps can be installed via the Google or Apple app stores if you want to use Webex on your IOS or Android device.
      5. Add-in available for Outlook on the Web.
      6. Can be recorded.
    1. Teams.  This works similarly to Webex and Zoom, but does not allow dial-in users without an additional purchase and configuration.
      1. If you have Office installed on your computer already, you should already have Teams.  If not you can download here.
      2. Teams mobile app can also be installed from your app store
      3. Already integrated into Outlook and OWA (http://connect.rutgers.edu), you can easily create a meeting from either as a Teams meeting.
      4. Live voice transcription available.
      5. Can be recorded.

VPN into Rutgers to access protected resources that are only accessible from the Rutgers network.

  1. Cisco VPN
    1. Must first turn on Two Factor authentication by going to it.rutgers.edu/two-step-login/ and clicking ENROLL NOW.   You then need to choose one or more options for a 2nd factor.  Most choose to install the DUO app on their smartphone.  If you have no smartphone, or if you prefer, you can use text messages or phone calls to cell phones or home phones instead.  These options can be chosen during the setup process.
    2. Then you need to activate the VPN service for your account,
    3. Then you download, install, and configure the VPN software on your computer. See PDF instructions.

Accessing your documents from home.

  1. OneDrive. 
    1. If you already use it, then great.  You can access your files from home already, simply by logging into OWA (connect.rutgers.edu) and choosing OneDrive from the tic-tac-toe icon on the top left corner.
    2. If you prefer, you can install the OneDrive App on your computer to work with your files on OneDrive without having to go through the website.   We have some basic instructions, information, and a video on our One Drive page
    3. If you don’t already store files on OneDrive, you can upload any files you think you may need from home by logging into http://connect.rutgers.edu and then you can access those files from home.   Or, if you have the OneDrive local app installed, you can upload it that way as well.  You’ll need to remember to copy those files back from OneDrive to your local hard drive when you are back in the office so changes made while at home will replace the copies you had stored locally.
    4. Files can then be shared with others to collaborate on documents that you would normally work on in person in the office.
    5. ADVANCED.  There is an option in the local OneDrive app (Windows only, not available for Mac) that would let you automatically upload all files from the Documents, Desktop, and Pictures folders on your computer to OneDrive, and let you access them from your PC like you normally do.  Essentially syncing your local Documents, Desktop, and Pictures folder with OneDrive seamlessly.  That would let you access all important files (as long as they are in one of those 3 folders) the from home as well, and changes made at home will automatically be applied to your office computer.  This requires a bit of thought, and not every department may want to set things up this way, and I don’t want to bypass your local IT support.   But this is an option you may want to discuss with them.
  2. Box.
    1. Another alternative to OneDrive.  You can store files in the cloud and access from home.  Features are similar.
    2. If you haven’t activated it yet, you need to go to http://box.rutgers.edu and click SIGN UP.  
    3. Files are easily accessible by http://box.rutgers.edu or by installing the Box local app https://box.rutgers.edu/downloads/
    4. Files can then be shared with others to collaborate on documents that you would normally work on in person in the office.
  3. Remote Desktop.
    1. This is another option, if you VPN in from home, you may be able to access your desktop via a protocol called remote desktop on a Windows PC.  Talk to your IT Support to see if this is possible.  This option is not as reliable as using cloud storage because it’s reliant on your office maintaining electrical power, internet connectivity, and your computer not freezing or accidentally being shut off.  But, if you can access your PC, it would  let you work right from your office computer as if you were in the office, and being able to access all local resources in your office (USB drives, printers, etc). OIT has set up a special system to allow you to remote desktop to any RU machine on Rutgers address space without VPN. Instructions can be found here.