Husky OnNet

Last updated: January 18, 2023
Audience: All UW

Husky OnNet (HON) is a free individual VPN (Virtual Private Network) service that provides current UW students, faculty and staff with a secure connection to the UW network from remote locations, such as from home, a coffee shop, at the airport, etc.

Husky OnNet lets you remotely connect to resources that are normally only accessible from the UW network, such as teaching and learning tools, research databases, and departmental servers.

What’s New

What's New

Provision Husky OnNet with the Provisioning Request Tool!

If you would like to provision Husky OnNet access for a sponsored UW NetID that you manage, please use the Provisioning Request Tool. For instructions on provisioning access, visit the Husky OnNet for Sponsored UW NetIDs page.

When do you need Husky OnNet?

When you are off-campus, use Husky OnNet to connect to non-public UW network resources. For example, if you are working from home, you may need access to your work computer and files on the UW network. If you are working on assignments or research at home, you may need access to journals and databases that are only open to users on the UW network. Husky OnNet lets you access UW network resources including:

  • Teaching and learning tools
  • Research databases
  • Subscription-based online journals
  • Departmental servers
  • Administrative applications
  • Financial applications
  • Printers
  • Desktops

Like most organizations, UW has network-connected resources and applications that are available only to computers and devices that are members of the network. Computers on the internet at large cannot directly connect to these internal, protected resources and applications.

When don’t you need Husky OnNet?

If you need to access services on the internet, like email, uw.edu webpages, Google Drive, Office 365, Workday, Canvas, and many other websites, you don’t need Husky OnNet.

Getting Husky OnNet on Your Device

You can set up and connect to Husky OnNet on your device if you are:

  • A current UW student, faculty, or staff, or
  • An authorized Husky OnNet – Department (HON-D) user
  • Using a sponsored UW NetID with Husky OnNet enabled

To use Husky OnNet, follow the instructions on the Installing, Configuring, and Using Husky OnNet page to connect to the service. UW-IT offers support for Husky OnNet on Windows and macOS, but it is also available for Linux and mobile devices.

UW Medicine & clinical departments should NOT use Husky OnNet to access restricted UW Medicine resources. Users in UW Medicine & clinical departments should visit UW Medicine Remote Access for access to restricted UW Medicine resources, or email UW Medicine IT Services at mcsos@uw.edu for more information.

If you use an ineligible UW NetID, you may be able to download and install the Husky OnNet client but will be unable to connect to the service.

What is a VPN and how does Husky OnNet work?

If you try to connect remotely to the UW’s private network via a third-party internet service provider (ISP) like Comcast or CenturyLink, without first using Husky OnNet or another UW VPN your access will be denied. This is because your device belongs to the ISP’s network and is not a part of the UW’s network. What you need is the UW network to recognize your computer or device. That’s where Husky OnNet or another UW VPN comes in.

Using Husky OnNet, you create a secure, encrypted connection to the UW network on top of the third-party ISP connection. HON assigns a UW network IP address to your computer or device and allows the UW network to “see” it as a local member and provide access.

Get Support

UW-IT can assist users in downloading, installing, and making a successful connection to the UW network using Husky OnNet. Please note that UW-IT cannot offer support for:

  • Getting or troubleshooting an ISP connection
  • Compatibility issues on your device
  • Devices not running a current version of Windows or macOS
  • Devices not running the Husky OnNet application downloaded from IT Connect
  • Issues related to non-UW-IT services accessed through Husky OnNet

Also, Husky OnNet does not allow access to Husky TV or Philo services.

Support for Husky OnNet on Windows and macOS

UW-IT provides support for using Husky OnNet on a Windows or macOS computer.

If these online materials do not resolve your questions or issues, please contact UW-IT Service Desk at help@uw.edu or (206) 221-5000.

Support for Husky OnNet on Linux

Linux users can connect to Husky OnNet through a browser helper application. Note that the application is provided as-is. UW-IT cannot provide support for using Husky OnNet on Linux.

Support for Husky OnNet on iOS, Android, and Chrome OS

Use the F5 Access application to connect to Husky OnNet from a mobile device or Chrome OS. You will need to download the application from your device’s app store and manually configure it. UW-IT is unable to provide support for using Husky OnNet on iOS, Android, and Chrome OS. When connecting, use these server addresses:

  • UW Campus Network Traffic Only: huskyonnet.uw.edu
  • All Internet Traffic: huskyonnet-ns.uw.edu

If you encounter issues, there may be helpful information in Frequently Asked Questions.

Support for Husky OnNet – Department (HON-D)

You can use the same client application for Husky OnNet to connect to your departmental Husky OnNet service, but you will need to configure different server addresses.

To connect to a Husky OnNet – Department service:

  • Contact your departmental IT for Husky OnNet – Department server addresses.
  • Follow the instructions in Selecting a Husky OnNet Server to configure the server addresses in your client application.

For additional help with connecting to your departmental Husky OnNet service, contact your departmental IT.

Online Support from F5 Networks

F5 Networks provide documentation for BIG-IP Edge Client, F5 Helper, and F5 Access. Note that these documentations may be technical, may become partially out of date over time, and may not fully apply to Husky OnNet.

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