We provide a variety of wired, wireless and other network services for use by staff, students and institutions around the University – including the Administrative Computing Network (ACN), the University Data Network (UDN) and the Granta Backbone Network (GBN).
Working remotely: how to connect to the VPN
You can use your University account (formerly Raven) to access most of the University's systems and online resources even while you're away from Cambridge. This includes your Cambridge email, Moodle, online journals, CamSIS and other online resources protected by Raven authentication.
VPN access is available for resources that normally require you to be connected directly to the University Data Network. Find out how to connect to the VPN.
DNS and IP addressing
UIS provides advice and technical support for registering DNS domain names. Find out more about DNS and IP addressing.
Hosting services
The UIS Hosting Service allows institutions to host their servers in a UIS-managed data centre. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is available to University Institutions wishing to adopt cloud-based infrastructure. Find out more about UIS hosting services.
Advice and consultancy
The UIS network team has experience in many aspects of data networking and related technologies. Find out about our network advice and consultancy services.
Network status
The status of network services can be seen in several places:
- The UIS IT Service Status page provides information on our key IT services. You can also call 01223 767999 and listen to an automated recording, or sign up to receive SMS, email or pager notifications when a service status changes via our subscription page.
- UDN host status shows the status of parts of the UDN and some networks accessible from it. The information is primariliy aimed at IT staff.
- UDN traffic graphs shows traffic levels on various links on the UDN, including PoPs and Janet links.
- Jisc's netsight network monitoring service shows the status of the University's ISP, Janet.
Please note that there are vulnerable periods that are used for essential maintenance and development work of network infrastructure, during which services may be interrupted. These are detailed in our service hours.
Reporting a network fault
Staff and students: Please contact your local IT staff in your Department or College for advice if you are experiencing difficulties with network connectivity. If they're not available, then please contact the UIS Service Desk.
IT support staff: Please contact the UIS Service Desk if you identify a fault with a UIS network service.
Further information for IT staff
Technical information about our networks is available on the IT staff support SharePoint site. Access to this site is managed through Entra groups for institutional IT staff. If you are an IT officer, please contact your local IT lead. They can add you to the group. Alternatively, you can contact the Service Desk.
This site contains guidance on:
- Network service charges
- University Data Network (UDN) services
- Fibre network (GBN) services
- Managed network service
- Intrusion Prevention System
- Managed Firewall Service
- Network Time Protocol (NTP)
- Connecting partner organisations