Get the Best Video Experience on Teams and Zoom—Even When Using VPN

Whether you're joining a class, leading a meeting, or collaborating with colleagues, a smooth video experience matters. Clear audio, stable video, and minimal lag help everyone stay focused and connected.

At Tufts, we encourage using the VPN (Virtual Private Network) to keep your work secure—especially when accessing university systems. At the same time, we’re making updates behind the scenes to ensure that using the VPN doesn’t slow down your video calls.

What’s changing—and why it matters

The week of July 7, we’re introducing a new feature called Dynamic Split Tunneling in Cisco Secure Client (formerly AnyConnect). While the name sounds technical, the goal is simple: make your meetings on Microsoft Teams and Zoom run more smoothly.

A simple way to think about it

Imagine your internet connection like a road system:

• Normally, when you’re on VPN, all your traffic takes a detour through campus before heading out to the internet.
• That detour helps keep things secure—but it can add extra distance, especially for real-time tools like video calls.

With Dynamic Split Tunneling:

• Your video calls take a direct highway to Teams or Zoom, instead of going through the extra detour.
• Meanwhile, secure university work still travels the protected route through VPN.

In other words, you get the best of both worlds—security where it’s needed and speed where it matters most.

What you’ll notice

This update helps improve your experience when using video conferencing and collaboration tools:

• Fewer frozen screens or dropped calls
• Smoother audio and video quality
• Faster, more responsive meetings
• Less lag when presenting or screen sharing

What you need to do

Nothing. This is a behind-the-scenes improvement that happens automatically when you're connected to the VPN.

You should continue to:

• Use VPN when accessing university systems or sensitive data
• Use Teams, Zoom, and other collaboration tools as you normally would

The bottom line

We’re removing unnecessary “middle steps” so your video calls can go straight to the source—keeping your meetings clear and reliable while maintaining the security Tufts depends on.