BCS/CVS migration to Office365
Why are we migrating?
Per a directive from University administration, all River Campus e-mail users must migrate to the Microsoft Office365 cloud-based e-mail environment. We have no choice in the matter.
What exactly is Office365?
Office365 (or O365) is a cloud-based e-mail and collaboration service provided by Microsoft. Aside from e-mail, they offer things like calendaring, an online version of Microsoft Office, and contact management. It is important to note that some features are not available to UR users of O365, and others are only available via the service's web interface or a Microsoft mail client (ie: Outlook). Please see the information page provided by University IT for more details: http://tech.rochester.edu/services/office-365/
When will my account be migrated?
Within the next month or two. Users will initially be allowed to pick the day/time for their migration...those who do not specify a day/time will eventually have their migrations scheduled by Chris.
What happens with my e-mail addresses?
You will have a new e-mail address to use with O365 based on your River Campus Active Directory account: <your_RC_AD_username>@ur.rochester.edu
This will be the only e-mail account you actively use with O365.
Even though you will not be able to actively use your old BCS/CVS e-mail addresses, people will still be able to send e-mail to them. E-mail sent to them will be filtered by our Barracuda (so existing spam filters for those accounts continue to work), then the e-mail will be automatically forwarded to your O365 account.
What is my "River Campus Active Directory" account?
All employees of UR have a couple different sets of credentials used for logging into various systems here at the University. We all know about our NetID accounts and what they're used for. You also have at least one Active Directory (AD) account...these credentials are used for logging into things like the wifi networks and other server-related resources.
Unlike our NetIDs, AD accounts are specific to physical locations. There are separate AD systems in place for the Medical Center and for River Campus...you log into Med Center resources using URMC credentials, and River Campus resources using RC credentials. There are exceptions to these general rules, but the important thing is that RC AD credentials are required for using Office365.
Although not required, it is often the case that your NetID and your AD credentials are synchronized, meaning you use the same username and password for both. That's why people may not realize they have both a NetID and an AD account.
The University has a website that will show you all of the various accounts you have, as well as allow you to change your password (changing your password results in ALL of your accounts having the same password, which is a good thing). That website is:
https://myidentity.rochester.edu
It's strongly recommended that, a few days before your scheduled migration, you log into this website using your NetID, view your accounts so you are sure that you have a RC AD account (called "UR Active Directory"), and change your password so all of your accounts use the same password. It will make the migration a lot smoother.
Does O365 have an antispam/virus system similar to the Barracuda?
Yes. E-mail sent to your O365 account will be filtered by the University's ProofPoint antispam/antivirus appliance, which works in a similar fashion as our Barracuda antispam/antivirus appliance. More information about ProofPoint can be found here: http://tech.rochester.edu/services/spam-management/
Is there a webmail interface for O365?
Yes...you have to use the Outlook Web Access interface: http://owa.ur.rochester.edu/. Using the Axigen webmail interface with O365 is not an option.
What happens the day of my migration?
The process for migrating a BCS/CVS e-mail account to O365 is quite similar to the process we went through when we migrated to the Axigen system. At the predetermined day and time, several things will happen simultaneously:
- logins to your old BCS/CVS account will be disabled.
University IT will create your account in O365 (<your_RC_AD_username>@ur.rochester.edu)
University IT will begin the process of migrating all of your e-mail currently residing on our mail server to your new O365 account. Note that the process of migrating your data to O365 may take a considerable amount of time...more than a day for the larger IMAP users.
- Your old addresses ("@mail.bcs/cvs" and "@bcs/cvs") will start automatically forwarding newly received e-mail to your O365 account.
Do I need to change the configuration of my e-mail clients to use Office365?
Yes. Once the migration process begins, you need to add your O365 account to your e-mail client(s). You can begin to use your account as soon as the migration starts.
Instructions for adding an O365 account to Thunderbird/iPhone/K-9Mail using the IMAP protocol are here: O365Imap
Instructions for adding an O365 account to Thunderbird using the POP protocol are here: O365Pop
Are there any other things I need to look out for once I'm using O365?
Yes. Microsoft added a new "feature" to O365 called "Clutter", which has been causing a lot of problems and confusion. It's an automated feature that manipulates your incoming e-mail based on what you've done with similar e-mail in the past. This means that if Clutter is active in your account, it may move incoming e-mail to the Trash or to other folders automatically, possibly making it seem as if you never received the e-mail. Microsoft implemented this as an "opt-out" feature, meaning it is enabled by default. I would suggest you turn this off. Instructions for doing so are here: O365KillClutter
What happens to our departmental mailing lists?
They stay the same. The Axigen system will remain in service to host the mailing lists, automatically forward e-mail from our old addresses to O365, and send out event notices. Nothing in respect to how these services work is being changed by the O365 migration.
Is there any O365 documentation provided by University IT?
Yes...they have more detailed info about O365 and its various features here: http://tech.rochester.edu/services/office-365/
Who do I contact if I have problems with my O365 account?
First check my troubleshooting wiki to see if your answer is there: O365Troubleshooting
Your primary point of contact for O365 issues is the University IT Help Desk. I (Chris) have no real access to O365 admin functions, so my ability to troubleshoot issues is severely curtailed compared to our Axigen system.
Routine issues (setting up a mail client, changes to our mailing lists, etc.) should still be brought to me (Chris).
Problems with the mail system itself (such as missing e-mail, delivery questions, spam filtering problems, etc.) should go directly to the UnivIT Help Desk.