The Lab Library has a growing number of on-line journals available to staff, but access to these publications by employees off site was a problem. Library Group Lead Carol Backhus approached LBLnet (the group responsible for the Lab's network infrastructure) with a question: "How could library patrons access online journals while at home, on travel, or working at another institution?" In order to be authenticated for journal access, patrons need to have a "Lab" IP address. The Library staff wanted to know how off-site users, who are sometimes thousands of miles from the Lab, could obtain a Lab IP address to allow access to the journals.

LBLnet's Greg Bell drew up a chart, outlining the various options for library users. He explained that many off-site users - including those who dial-up to LBLnet's Remote Access Service or who have ISDN at home -- already obtain a "Lab" address automatically.

That's not the case for the ever-growing population of Lab employees who have DSL or cable access at home, however. For those employees, and for library users who spend a lot of time at other institutions, Greg suggested LBLnet's VPN Service. This service allows users to connect to the Lab, and obtain a "Lab" IP address, from anywhere in the world. Their Internet traffic is encrypted and "tunneled," so they gain security as well as a Lab address. Because the VPN devices deployed by LBLnet do encryption and decryption in hardware, users don't have to install or configure any client software to take advantage of the service.