Glossary: Off-campus and IP Addresses

 

Anytime we are not logged in to the Trent network we are considered off-campus. This includes using personal computers in the college residences.

All computers on the internet have an IP address assigned to them. This is a unique number that identifies that computer when it's online. Every time we access a website, our IP address is sent to the server where the site is maintained.

All official Trent computers have an IP address that falls within our designated range of IP addresses, and when our library subscribes to an online resource we give the supplier our range of IP addresses. When we link to a restricted database, the server checks our computer's IP address against its list of allowed IPs. If the IP address is on the list, the computer is permitted access; if it isn't on the list, access is denied.

The proxy server allows any off-campus Trent student to access our resources from anywhere in the world because we pass through it on our way to websites and it authenticates us as valid Trent users.