How do I connect to the Purdue(West Lafayette) VPN with a Mac, Windows or Linux machine? (Cisco Secure Client)

Overview

This article includes information on downloading and installing the Cisco Secure Client to various operating systems. See "How do I connect to the West Lafayette Purdue VPN?" for instructions on connecting once the Secure Client application has been installed. 

Instructions

Downloading Cisco Secure Client VPN Application

The easiest way to download Cisco VPN client is to navigate to webvpn.purdue.edu and sign in using your Duo Mobile MFA

• Sign in using your Purdue Career Account alias for your username 

• For your password, enter either:  

  • password and approve the notification on the Duo Mobile app. 

  • Password,###### with the numbers after the comma being the 6-digit code from your Duo Mobile App

• The system should detect what type of OS you have (Windows, Mac, etc) and download the appropriate client

Otherwise, you can follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the URL (https://communityhub.purdue.edu/storefront/overview) in your web browser and login with your Purdue Career Account and password;  when logging into the Purdue VPN, users will need to enter their password.
2. Under the 'Online Store Homepage' header, there is a search bar; type 'Cisco Secure Client' and press 'Enter'.
3. Select the item that is labeled as 'Cisco Secure Client for Personally Owned Computers'.
4. Select the option that is most applicable to your computer and then click the button 'Add to cart'.
    
5. NOTE:  Cisco Secure Client is free to students, faculty, and staff of Purdue University.  The total cost of your order should be $0.00 unless you specifically added other products.  Once you have verified that the item you selected is in your account, click on the 'Checkout' button.
6. On the 'Checkout: Notes/Comments' screen, leave the input box alone and click 'Next'.
    
7. On the 'Review Your Order' screen, click the 'Place order' button.  You should then be directed to a webpage confirming your order that lists the download link for your product under 'Order Summary'.  Additionally, an email confirmation with download links for Cisco Secure Client will be sent to your Purdue email account.  Click the download link in either of these options and then proceed with the instructions in the section below based on your computer's operating system. 

Installing and Launching Cisco Secure Client VPN Application

Microsoft Windows

1. After successfully downloading the Cisco Secure Client installer, navigate to the file's location, commonly located in the 'Downloads' folder accessible via the File Explorer app.
   
   
2. Either double-click the application or right-click on the anyconnect-win-4.9.06037-core-vpn-predeploy-k9.msi option and run the installer. 
   
   
   
    
3. The installer will greet you with an install wizard.  Click 'Next' to begin.
   
   
    
4. In order to install and use the Cisco Secure Client application, you are required to accept the terms of license agreement.  Select the 'I accept the terms in the License Agreement' option, and then click 'Next'.
   
   
5. Click the 'Install' button, and permit Windows to install the application when the system asks for your permission.
   
   
    
6. Upon successful installation, the following screen shall appear.  Click the 'Finish' button to exit the installer.
   
   
7. With the application installed, launch Cisco Secure Client via the 'Windows Search' tool.  You may do this by pressing the 'Windows' button on your keyboard, or clicking the 'Windows' icon in the bottom left of your screen, and start typing your search.  Once you have selected the correct application, press the 'Enter' key.
   
   
8. You will be presented with the following screen.  Enter the address 'webvpn2.purdue.edu' and then click the 'Connect' button.
   
   
    
9. Cisco Secure Client will then ask for your Purdue Career account username and password.
   Enter them in and click 'OK'.
   
   
10. Occasionally, Cisco Secure Client will download an update before establishing your connection.  Wait for it to finish and then restart your computer if prompted.  You will likely need to go through the above process again for launching and connecting to the VPN.
    
    
11. Upon successful connection, you should be able to click on the carrot in the taskbar and find the Cisco Secure Client icon in the menu.  Hover over the icon to view connection status.  You can disconnect or even close the application by right-clicking on this icon and selecting the respective option.
    
    

Mac OS

1. On the following screen after you complete the purchase, there will be a link from which you may download the application.
   
   

2. You will be prompted with a window to open the download, select 'OK'.
   
   
    
3. Another window will pop up and you will need to double-click the 'AnyConnect' installer.
   
   
    
4. The Secure Client installer will begin and you need to select 'Continue' and agree to the license.  You may have to select 'Macintosh HD' as the destination.  Select 'Continue'.  At the end of the installation, you will be prompted for the password of your laptop to continue the install.
   
   
5. The installation should take about a minute and then you will be asked if you want to keep the installer or move it to 'Trash', which is up to you.  Moving it to the trash will not effect the application. 
    
6. The application will now be in your launchpad.
   
   
    
7. Click on the 'Cisco Secure Client' application and it will launch the following window:
   
   
8. You will need to put in the Purdue VPN, and select 'Connect', where you will then be prompted for your Purdue Career account username and password. Enter them and then you will be connected to the VPN.
   
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Linux

NOTE:  Due to the nature of Linux and its potential variations between distributions, these following instructions cannot be said to be accurate for everything.  They are provided as a frame of reference, and the distribution used in this specific process was Ubuntu 20.04.

Install via Terminal

1. Navigate to wherever you downloaded the file, likely your 'Downloads' folder:  cd~/Downloads
    
2. Unzip the file, which currently downloads as a tar.gz zip archive, substituting the filename in the following command with the one respective to the name of the file you downloaded:  tar-xzf anyconnect-linux64-4.7.04056-predeploy-k9.tar.gz
    
3. Navigate to the subfolder 'vpn' of the newly unzipped folder, usually named anyconnect-linux64-VERSIONNUMBER:  cd anyconnect-linux64-4.7.04056/vpn/
    
4. Run the 'vpn_install.sh' script with superuser privileges:  sudo bash vpn_install.sh
    
5. Enter in your password when prompted for sudo and then agree to the terms of the license agreement when prompted by typing the letter 'y' and then pressing 'Enter'.
    
6. At this point, Cisco Secure Client should be installed, and you can access it as you would any other application.  See the screenshot below for reference on commands, except for step 5.
   
   

Run the Application

1. After installation, run the Cisco AnyConnect Client as you would any other desktop application on Linux.
    
2. In the address bar, where it says 'Connect to:', enter the address webvpn2.purdue.edu, and then press 'Enter' or click the 'Connect' button at the bottom.
   
   
    
3. Enter your Purdue Career account username and password and press 'Enter' or click the 'Connect' button again.
   
   
4. At this point, you should confirm your login via the DUO Mobile app on your phone and the VPN will finish initializing the connection.  During this process, the Cisco Secure Client window may minimize itself, but a successful connection should look like this:
   
   
   
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Still need help?  Click the 'Purdue IT Request' button to start a ticket.