How do I set up access to CORE / Zscaler?

Overview

CORE is the State of Colorado Resource Engine. It functions as a data warehouse for the State of Colorado and has several different purposes. Some teams at MSU Denver such as Accounting Services or Finance may need to access this engine to upload institutional data to the state. In order to access the engine, a proxy connection must be set up on your University computer using Zscaler. This guide is only intended to document the portions or the process that involve MSU Denver ITS.

Before you begin...

• Access to this service is highly restricted. You must obtain prior authorization from the State of Colorado CORE Office. Please work with your supervisor to obtain this access before continuing. See Additional Resources for state contact information.
• As of 2/17/2023, the directions to connect have been updated. Previous directions instructed users to use Internet Explorer. It involved several steps to add URLs to the Trusted Sites Zone, set up proxy connections in Internet Explorer, etc. These directions are no longer relevant. The service can be accessed using simple machine-wide proxy settings and using any modern browser including Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Please be aware that there are many PDF guides circulating that contain these old directions.

Instructions

1. Request access from the State of Colorado. Work with your supervisor to do this. MSU Denver ITS has no visibility on these systems.
2. Once you have received your log in credentials, identify the certificate needed to connect. This file may be provided to you through communications from the state or it may be available in your department's network drive. Multiple people can use the same certificate. It usually expires every year.
3. Request assistance from MSU Denver ITS using the General Support - I Don't See What I Need request form with the following information:
   • Ticket Title: "CORE/Zscaler setup assistance"
   • Description: "I require assistance setting up CORE/Zscaler access on my MSU Denver computer. All that I need is an IT technician to use their administrator credentials to install a certificate from CO state on my computer. Please reference KB article 138718 for more information."
4. Install the certificate according to the instructions from the state. A member of MSU Denver ITS will need to enter their admin credentials during this process.
5. After the certificate has been installed, the rest of the directions from the state can be ignored.
6. Set up the proxy connection
   1. On your Windows computer, open up Settings from the Start menu.
   2. Go to Network & Internet.
   3. Go to Proxy.
   4. Toggle Use setup script to On.
   5. Paste the following address into the text box titled script address: http://pac.zscalertwo.net/state.co.us/core.pac
   6. Click Save.

7. Continue with directions to access the CORE website.
8. Access can be tested using the http://ip.zscaler.com website.

If you have configured the proxy correctly, you will see the following page:

If you have NOT configured the proxy correctly, you will see the following page:

Result

You will be able to access the CORE website.

Additional Resources

Zscaler NIST Guide.docx.pdf (See article attachments)

ZscalerCertificateInstallGuide.pdf (see article attachments)

CORE Operations Main Website: https://osc.colorado.gov/core-operations

CORE Helpdesk Email: core.help@state.co.us

CORE Helpdesk Phone Number: +1 (844) 235-2673