VPN Access

You currently need VPN access to be able to connect to the lab computers

Linux Setup

On an ubuntu-based system, if you cannot ping or ssh to the lab computers then you may need to try the following

• with the use of systemd, things are bit more difficult because it dynamically adjusts your resolv.conf file
• if this is the case for you, you will need to move the resolv.conf to another filename if it is a symlink, as that means that systemd is taking care of it

cd /etc
sudo mv resolv.conf resolv.conf.disabled #in case you need to get it later, or want to know what is inside it!
sudo vim resolv.conf

Now add the following to your resolv.conf and save it, then connect to the VPN again

nameserver 127.0.0.53 132.205.1.1 8.8.8.8
options edns0 trust-ad
search concordia.ca net.concordia.ca

Workflow for Ubuntu 24.04 (might work elsewhere, untested)

As of 17/02/2026, the following method works for installing and connecting through the VPN. Tested on Pop!_OS (Ubuntu 24.04)

Concordia VPN uses Microsoft SAML, which on Pop!_OS is most reliably handled by FortiClient (official repo). After connecting, FortiClient may break public DNS, so you apply a small DNS fix script.

1. Install FortiClient from Fortinet repo (7.2)

wget -O - https://repo.fortinet.com/repo/forticlient/7.2/debian/DEB-GPG-KEY \
  | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/repo.fortinet.com.gpg >/dev/null

Add repo

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/repo.fortinet.com.gpg] https://repo.fortinet.com/repo/forticlient/7.2/debian/ stable non-free" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/repo.fortinet.com.list

Install

sudo apt update
sudo apt install forticlient

If you want to verify:

apt-cache policy forticlient
forticlient version

2. Connect (Microsoft SAML)

Launch FortiClient GUI. You can do this via CLI with forticlient gui but it also works just by launching the app.

Configure VPN as per https://www.concordia.ca/it/support/connect-from-home.html:

Connection Name: Concordia VPN
Remote Gateway: vpn.concordia.ca
Customize port: 443
Client Certificate: None

Complete Microsoft MFA login

This SHOULD connect your VPN but you won't have internet access.
IP ping should work ping 1.1.1.1
But domain names fail: ping google.com > “Name or service not known”

You have to fix this manually once, then you can write a helper:

Find your active interface:

ip route | grep default

Then set public DNS on that interface (example uses enp6s0):

sudo resolvectl dns enp6s0 1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8

Then ping google.com should work!

3. Recommended: add a helper command fixvpn

Create script

mkdir -p ~/bin #if it doesnt exist yet
nano ~/bin/fixvpn

Paste:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
iface=$(ip route | awk '/default/ {print $5; exit}')
sudo resolvectl dns "$iface" 1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8
echo "DNS fixed on $iface"

Save and close, then make it executable:

chmod +x ~/bin/fixvpn

Add ~/bin to PATH if not already:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

To connect subsequent times:

Open FortiClient GUI, log in,
run fixvpn in terminal