What is Campus Active Directory, and why are we changing systems?

Campus Active Directory is where DoIT hosts all of our NetID accounts used on campus. Your NetID is what allows you to sign into MyUW, Canvas, Microsoft Office, and many other campus applications and systems. Historically, SOHE has also maintained our own Active Directory just for SOHE staff and students. The SOHE Active Directory was primarily used for S-drive access, as well as signing into your Windows laptop. Over the last year, DoIT has worked with us to merge our SOHE Active Directory into their system. The goal is to have your NetID be used as your account for all campus and SOHE systems, including computer sign-in and S-drive access. If you are a Mac user, there will be no changes to your sign-in. Mac users will eventually need to sign in to the S-drive with their NetID credentials. I will notify users before that happens later this fall.

What do I need to do to get ready?

The good news is that migration will be mostly automated. The first step you will want to take is installing the BinaryTreeAgent from the S-drive (you may have seen an email regarding this already). If you have worked in the building and been on our network since early May, then you already have the BinaryTreeAgent installed on your computer. If you have been working remotely, then you will likely need to install the agent manually. It can be found on the S-drive at S:\Academic Technology\BinaryTreeAgent\MigratorProDOIT.msi . You will just need to click on the MigratorProDOIT file and install it. Once it is installed, we will handle the rest of the migration process for you.

When are migrations scheduled for?

Our "alpha" and "beta" waves of migration have already begun, and users so far have run into minimal issues getting migrated. Wave 1 is scheduled for the week of 6/17/24, with Wave 2 coming early July 2024. Wave 1 users have already been notified of the migration. Wave 2 users should expect to hear communications soon from BITS regarding the timeline, so keep an eye out. 

What do I need to do after migration?

Once your computer has been migrated over, it will perform a reboot. You will then need to sign in with your NetID credentials. Any apps that use your NetID on your computer, such as Office, Box, or Adobe will need you to re-authenticate with your NetID. Otherwise, your computer profile should look identical to the way it was before, including your local files, shortcuts, and S: and U: drives.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at bits@sohe.wisc.edu!