ThinkVantage Access Connections enables users to create and manage location profiles, used to connect easily to the appropriate network when using a portable computer. It is available on all laptops issued by Fairleigh Dickinson University Laptops.

ThinkVantage Access Connections

To launch ThinkVantage Access Connections, look for its icon in On the Desktop,
Which looks like the Icon Below.

The following window will appear. The pictures in the center of the window will be
different depending on your location.

CREATE A NEW PROFILE

Launch ThinkVantage Access Connections.
Go to the Locations menu and choose Create New Profile..., as shown in the
image below.

The following screen will appear.

Field one allows you to pick the name and icon for your new profile. Type in a
name and choose an icon that will symbolize this profile in ThinkVantage Access
Connections from now on.

Field two allows you to pick which type of network connection this profile will use:
Wired LAN (Ethernet), Wireless LAN, Wired Broadband (DSL or Cable Modem),
Dial-Up (Modem or Cell Phone), or Wireless WAN. The Best Available Network
option allows the profile to look for the different types of connections and choose
the best one it finds to be available each time it attempts to connect. Choose the
type of network connection appropriate for your home network. If you are unsure
which connection to choose, select Best Available Network.

Field three allows you to pick the network adapter this profile will use, and set the
priority for multiple adapters under the Best Available Network option. This allows
you to specify which types of connections the profile will attempt to find and in
what order.

This window also offers Ethernet authentication properties and an option to
disconnect and power off this profile when you switch to a different profile.

When you are finished with this screen, click the Next button. The following
screen will appear.

Field one asks you for the SSID or name of your network. Enter the name of your
home network. (For example, if your home network uses a Linksys wireless
router and the default name has never been changed, you would enter "linksys"
here.) If you are unsure of the name of your network, click the Find Network
button to browse for it.

Set the options in fields two, three, and four to correspond with your home
network. If you are unsure of any of the information, contact your home network
administrator or consult your home network documentation or your Home ISP for
further assistance. The UTAC cannot provide support for home networks.

When you are finished with this screen, click the Next button. The following
screen will
appear.

This screen allows you to choose various settings for this profile. You may wish
to uncheck the "Override home page" option.

When you are finished with this screen, click the Finish button. This will return
you to the main ThinkVantage Access Connections screen, as in the image
below, where you will see that your new profile is now available in the Locations
drop down list.

While on campus, users should select the tsunami profile.

SET PROFILE PRIORITY
ThinkVantage Access Connections allows you to set an order in which it use your
profiles when it attempts to connect to a network. The default setting on FDU
issued laptops is tsunami..

To change this setting, go to the Configure menu and choose Location
Switching..., as shown in the image below.

The following window will appear on top of the main ThinkVantage Access
Connections window.

Select the name of the profile you wish to move (in the Location column of the
table) and use the Higher and Lower buttons to move it up or down the list.
Profiles higher on the list will be used first. If they fail, ThinkVantage Access
Connections will proceed to try profiles lower down on the list.

When you are finished with this window, click OK. You will be returned to the
main ThinkVantage Access Connections window.

SWITCH PROFILES
Switching your active profile allows you to switch what network your computer
will connect to. There are two ways to do this.

If you have already launched ThinkVantage Access Connections, look for
the Locations drop down box on the Locations Profiles tab.

Click the arrow to expand the list, and click to choose the profile you want to
switch to. The button to the right of the list will now say Connect. When you click
the button, ThinkVantage Access Connections will connect your computer to the
network specified by the profile you selected. A status window will appear, and
then close on its own after a successful connection.

If you have not launched ThinkVantage Access Connections and do not
wish to, look for its icon in the System Tray (the row of icons on the right side of
the Task Bar at the bottom of your screen). It is circled in red in the image below.

Left click it once. You will see the following menu.

Choose the name of the profile you would like to switch to from the list at the top
of the menu. ThinkVantage Access Connections will connect your computer to
the network specified by the profile you selected. A status window will appear,
and then close on its own after a successful connection.