Coming to Edwards soon: AFNet migrations

  • Published
  • By Keith Whitman
  • 412th Communications Squadron
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 412th Test Wing and all supported tenants will soon migrate its computer users into a central Air Force Network (AFNet). This means Edwards Local Area Network users.

Over a period of 45 days beginning May 28, technicians will begin migrating Edwards workstations, network users and e-mail into the AFNet. To the majority of Edwards computer users, most of the changes will be transparent and should not cause any interruption to network access or normal day-to-day operations, but for the Air Force, this migration represents a major change to how computer networks are managed.

Until now, major commands and various other Air Force organizations have been operating their own independent networks, consequently driving unique and unit specific requirements. Over the years, this approach led to standardization and security problems, high operation and maintenance costs and a lack of enterprise situational awareness. In short, there was no single organization or commander responsible for the network.

The AFNet migration project addresses these issues, and places Air Force cyber operations under the operational control of a single commander. This approach will yield a significant improvement in the Air Force's ability to fight daily virus activity and malicious intrusion attempts. Additionally, AFNet migrations will centralize services like e-mail, significantly improving network security and standardization. Finally, operational and training costs will be reduced through the elimination of redundant systems and services.

The most visible change will be in the format of your e-mail address. The migration replaces the old first.last@edwards.af.mil e-mail address with a standard first.last@us.af.mil address. The new addresses will remain with users for the duration of their career, employment, or affiliation with the Air Force, regardless of the base or organization assigned. As more bases join the AFNet, Airmen will be able to login to their accounts from any AFNet base without requesting and creating an additional account. This will allow easy access to the network during deployments and throughout temporary duty and permanent change of station moves. Sites such as the Air Force Portal, Air Force Personnel Center and Defense Finance Accounting Service, will also remain easily accessible regardless of your duty location.

As Edwards approaches its projected start date, a team of Air Force Network Integration Center, 690th Network Support Group and 412th Communications Squadron technicians will be busy preparing equipment and resources to facilitate the migration. To ensure a smooth transition to the AFNet, look for future 412th CS generated advisories for additional migration related information.

For any questions or additional information, please contact the 412th CS Communications Focal Point at (661) 277-3444, or by email at 412CS.Client.Services.center@edwards.af.mil.