Swarthmore College ITS doesn't support network access for Linux systems, but it is possible to connect Linux to the campus network. This page contains some tips we have collected.
When connecting Linux devices, or a dual boot system, to the network there are a few steps to follow.
1) If the device was previously on the network, as a MAC or Windows device, and is being reimaged as Linux you will need to submit a ticket to the ITS helpdesk to remove the previous identification record so the Linux machine can be identified correctly.
2) If installing a dual boot system you will need to randomize the MAC addresses on one of your operating systems, as both systems cannot use the same MAC Address.
SwatVPN
To use Swarthmore's VPN system from Linux, it is possible to install the Cisco AnyConnect client for Linux. Submit a help request to ask for the AnyConnect Linux installer then follow the directions below.
- tar -zxvf anyconnect-linux64-<version number>-predeploy-k9.tar.gz
- cd anyconnect-linux64-<version number>
- cd vpn
- sudo ./vpn_install.sh
Ubuntu apt-get errors
Swarthmore's network can cause problems for some Ubuntu systems when installing software via apt-get. To avoid the problem, use the following instructions.
Create a file on the system called /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99ignoreproxy (or 99something) and add the following lines:
Acquire::http::Pipeline-Depth 0; Acquire::http::No-Cache true; Acquire::BrokenProxy true;