These are several common problems reported to us regarding off-campus access:

AOL (America Online)
Clemson employees on other government networks
Co-op students away for the semester
Corporate Firewalls
Firewalls
Government interns
Northland Cable
Workplace Access

America Online is an Online Service Provider with available connections to the Internet. The AOL Web Browser is incompatible with the Libraries' web servers.

Solution

AOL usually installs a copy of Internet Explorer with its own software. Launch AOL, minimize their browser and start Internet Explorer. This should allow regular access.

Some Clemson employees work in buildings/campuses operated by other government agencies. These networks should appear as genuine off-campus networks. They would operate in the same fashion as home dial-up/broadband networks. If you experience difficulties please see Firewalls.

Your access continues as long as you are an enrolled student. It is very common for Co-op students to have access from their home and then see it not work from their internship site. Usually this is from corporate or government firewalls blocking access. See -- Firewalls

See -- Firewalls

Firewalls are barriers to network access. They exist to protect computers/networks from outside attack. They can also be used to prevent computers on the inside of a firewall from going out to certain sites. Typically they are maintained at the organization level but individuals can run their own (Windows XP includes one with Service Pack 2).

Why is this a problem?

All Internet software communicates via addresses called "ports." Web browsers talk to port 80 while other software can use any number from 0 to 65,000. To most users this is a never-seen aspect of web surfing. To systems administrators this can be a headache. Viruses and other malicious software will communicate through these ports as will file sharing software like KaZaa or Napster. Ports other than port 80 are often turned off (with a firewall) to protect the network from outside attack (Viruses) and from inside abuse (file swappers - industrial espionage).

If all you do is web surf, you might not notice this blocking. However, the Library runs its off-campus access using port 2048 ( notice it in our URLs: http://sys.lib.clemson.edu:2048/login? ). If we detect you using a URL from off-campus we immediately authenticate you and set-up a session on some port in the 2xxx range.

Activity off of port 80 is often enough to engage a firewall. Sometimes the handoff from port 2048 to another 2xxx port will flag an action. In either case, systems administrators will have blocked the transaction. the Libraries have run into this situation with co-op students in industry, interns with the federal government, and possibly cable modem users with Northland Cable.

Solution

Solutions will depend on your IT staff. In some cases they have turned off ALL ports other than 80. It is easier to turn off access to most ports and wait for someone to complain than it is to monitor all 65,000.

Particularly in industry, approach this issue with caution. If you have home access ask yourself if it that is enough. Look for your company's Internet Policy (probably something you signed without reading when you started work). If you need access at work, be prepared to justify what resources you need to access and direct the IT people to the paragraphs above.

Several Clemson students working in the U.S. House of Representatives reported that the House network would not allow off-campus access. See -- Firewalls

Several cable modem users have reported problems with off-campus access. This is probably a firewall issue. See -- Firewalls.

Some employers may block access to non-standard web addresses. See -- Firewalls.

If none of the above solved your problem, please call or email Gordon Cochrane (864-656-1535 or toll-free: 1-877-886-2389; gmcochr@clemson.edu).