Network access

PCs, Wi-Fi, VPN, Shibboleth
Typing
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'Internet-enabled PC' in the ULB
With your laptop in the ULB
A computer somewhere in the university Münster
From home or outside
With the Citrix Client (for CD-ROM databases)
Shibboleth
For external users

In our category "research" you will find a variety of electronic offers: catalogues, bibliographies, lexica, full text databases, journals, etc. Not all offers are freely usable on the internet.
For licensing reasons, numerous journals and databases are only available on the university network for members of the university. You have unhindered access to these products on the PCs in the ULB or in the PC-pools of the University of Münster. Users of the ULB who are not members of the university also have access to the university network. The IP address of the computer from which the user accesses the product is the test criterion for the access authorization. Therefore, the products purchased and licensed by the ULB may only be used from PCs of the domain "uni-muenster.de" ("128.176.*.*"). When you are working on your PC at home or outside, you have to log in to the university network beforehand. You will find out how described at the bottom of this page.
Some journals and databases are available via Shibboleth for members of the university.

You are working on an internet-enabled PC in the ULB

Obviously, the PCs in the ULB, as well as in the Medical Branch Library, the Social Sciences Branch Library, the library in the House of the Netherlands, and the newspaper archive, are attached to the university network. The necessary additional software for the database or journal usage (Citrix ICA-Client, Acrobat Reader, etc.) is already installed.

  • You need an identification [de] to authenticate yourself on the computer.
  • You may use your own USB stick on the PCs in order to, for example, save research results or other data.
  • You can pay printings with your MensaCard or with coins.

You are working with your own laptop in the ULB

There is Wi-Fi in the ULB as well as in the branch libraries. Workplaces for laptops are also located here.

  • You need a net access password* in addition to your ZIV central password. You can set it up yourself in the portal "My ZIV".
  • You have to set up the Wi-Fi connection on your laptop once. You will find detailed instructions on setting up the Wi-Fi connection on the ZIV pages; you will get a printed instruction at the reading room counter of the ULB. In addition, the ZIV offers advice service in the ULB: ZIV employees who answer questions concerning the issues Wi-Fi of the university (university MS, Eduroam), virus protection, setting up print & pay, set up of VPN are available in the DigiLab Mon–Fri 1–4 p.m.. Please refer to the user support in the ZIV outside of the hours mentioned above.
  • If you want to use a database from the ULB offer that only exists on CD-ROM, you have to install additional software – Citrix ICA-Client.

You are working on a computer somewhere in the university Münster

The computers in the institutes of the University of Münster, in the PC-pools, etc. are attached to the university network and therefore meet the IP address test. If you are working in a PC-pool, you obviously also need a ZIV identification to log in to the computer.

If you want to use a database from the ULB offer that only exists on CD-ROM, additional software – Citrix ICA-Client – would have to be installed; this might not always be the case! In this case, ask the responsible supervisor of the PC-pool.

You are working on your computer at home or outside

In order to also get access to the complete ULB offer (for example, licensed databases and journals) from home or from a different location, you need a VPN connection. This provides you with an IP address from the university identifying you as a legitimate member. For this purpose, you need a so-called VPN Client that establishes a secure connection to the university network, in addition to a user identification and a net access password* assigned by the ZIV.

The products published by Beck are not usable via VPN from home. The contract terms with Beck online require that the user must be physically on the campus of the University of Münster.

If you want to use a database from the ULB offer that only exists on CD-ROM, you have to install additional software – Citrix ICA-Client.

Some products are available via Shibboleth regardless of the network.

Software: Citrix-ICA-Client

Some databases and lexica are made available as CD-ROM version that you can access online. In order to use these databases, specific software – the Citrix ICA-Client – must be installed on your PC. Additionally, these databases only work on the university network for licensing reasons (see above).

You can download the CITRIX Client (Citrix Presentation Server Clients) free of charge via the following link.

Please follow the installation instructions in the respective manuals.
The Windows version (.msi) is self-extracting.

For the correct functioning of the bibliographies and databases offered by us, the following instructions must be followed (some of the described settings can only be performed with administrator rights. If necessary, refer to the employees of the responsible IVV or EDV):

  • You have to use an access via the university (dial-up into the network of the university via the ZIV) because other dial-up points do not work due to licensing reasons!
  • You have to give the databases full access to your computer because some databases definitely want to store temporary files on drive C:

*Your net access password is required when you wish to connect your own computer via Wi-Fi-, pLANet-, Teleport or any other VPN connection to the computer network of the university and thus with the internet. For safety and technical reasons, the net access password must differentiate from the central password. As a university member, you can create a net access password yourself online in the portal "MyZIV".

Access electronic products from anywhere via Shibboleth

You can access these products from anywhere using Shibboleth with your ZIV user ID:

  • Lynda.com video trainings [de]
    • Login [de] via ZIV single sign-on
    • Providing personal information is not strictly necessary
  • IOP Journals [de]
    • Login [de] on the journal's website via „Institutional Login via Athens/Shibboleth“
    • Choose „Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster“
    • Enter your ZIV user ID and password into the ZIV SSO form
  • IEEE Xplore Digital Library [de]
    • Login [de] via "Institutional Sign In" – "Corporate Single Sign On"
    • Under "Browse by Institution" choose "Universitaets- und Landesbibliothek Muenster"
    • Enter your ZIV user ID and password into the ZIV SSO form

The terms used for the Shibboleth login and the University of Münster can vary depending on the provider: „Institutional Login“ / „Login via your Institution“ / „Login via Athens/Shibboleth“..., „Universität Münster“ / „WWU Münster“ / „Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster“... If necessary, select „German Higher Education and Research“ or „Deutschland [DFN-AAI]“ first.

DO NOT USE the personal login not connected to the university.

External users

Users of the ULB who are not members of the University of Münster have limited access to the university network. They can log in to the Linux PCs in the ULB research room that are connected to the internet and the university network with a guest ID [de], and they can also access the internet with their own devices via Wi-Fi; however, they cannot set up a VPN connection from their own computer (no matter where) to the university network. The Windows computers in the research room can also only be used by members of Münster University.
Students of other universities can use Eduroam, but cannot access the Münster University network with it.