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Workstation Migration FAQ

What is the workstation migration?

The workstation migration is a project associated with the separation of the Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Active Directory environments. Vanderbilt University issued workstations (laptops and desktops) currently connected to the shared active directory will move to the university-only directory (VUDS). Active Directory is a tool used to manage users and their machines to allow for authentication and authorization, as well as assigning and enforcing security policies.

Please note the following: 

  • Users who are utilizing local Virtual Machines (VMs) will be responsible for reconfiguring the VM to use VUDS. 
  • Migrations for VMs hosted in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) will be addressed separately.
Prepare for your migration Appointment
  1. Back up your data to Microsoft OneDrive prior to your appointment, click here for instructions.
  2. Connect to Pulse Virtual Private Network (VPN) and make sure all software updates are complete.
  3. Save your personal Zoom backgrounds to a familiar location. 
  4. All technicians and customers on campus must follow the Anchor Down, Step Up protocols. 
  5. To maintain social distancing, late arrivals of more than 10 minutes will be required to reschedule. 
Schedule your appointment

Our reservation page is most compatible with Edge, Internet Explorer (IE) or Google Chrome web browsers

To determine the appointment option that best fits your circumstances,  please complete the Workstation Migration Form .

To reschedule or cancel an exisiting appointment visit the "What if I need to rechedule or change my appointment?" FAQ below. 

After your migration appointment

Congratulations, your computer has been migrated!    When you return home and use your computer for the first time, yo u may notice a few differences.   Here are few  suggestions to help your machine run smoothly:    

  1. Shutdown and restart your computer
  2. Check your Zoom settings
    Customized Zoom settings may be reset with the migration. Sign in  at  https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/  to review your settings.
  3. Missing icons on taskbar? 
    The migration may  have removed icon(s)  from the taskbar, leaving a blank space where the icon used to be. Sometimes, clicking in the blank space will make the icon appear.  If that does not work, follow these steps:   
    1. Click on  the  Windows  icon  
    2. Search the application that you would like to add  
    3. Right click on the application  
    4. Click “Pin to taskbar”  
FAQs

Bring your laptop and power cord with you. Please also ensure you have your vuNetID and password on hand.

Make sure any data saved on your local hard drive is backed up to Microsoft OneDrive, for instructions click here. Also, ensure all software updates are installed before coming on campus for your appointment.

Visit us at Hill Center Tech Hub (Room 141) for your laptop or off-campus desktop appointment. A dedicated technician will perform the migration while you wait. You will need to bring your desktop tower/box and power cord. Monitors, keyboards, and mouse are not necessary for the appointment. 

Schedule your appointment to have our technician dispatched to your campus office location.

Yes, this process applies to all Vanderbilt-issued Macs.

Typically, a reboot resolves this issue. If you are still experiencing this issue after rebooting the machine, please submit a help request at help.it.vanderbilt.edu or call the Tech Hub at 615-343-9999.

The migration is for the device and is not dependent on or tied to the users. However, each user of the machine will need to log in to the machine after migration to verify their profile is populated and working correctly.

Clicking the empty space should make them appear. If that does not work, a reinstall of the application should work.

This error happens occassionally and unfortunately the only resolution is to re-add your backgrounds to Zoom. If you didn't delete the files after uploading them to Zoom, you should be able to locate them in the same file location you saved them prior to your migration.

COMING SOON! This process is still under development. We will communicate with you directly regarding details and next steps when they are ready.

If you have a local VM on your machine, you will be responsible for reconfiguring the VM to use VUDS.

The migration of your laptop will not impact your ability to look up a VUMC employee, as long as the user exists in shared AD. If using AD, you will have to right-click and change the domain back to shared (DS) in order to look up VUMC users.

The Hill Center is located at 1231 18th Ave S. The Tech Hub is in room 141. 

We have reserved parking spots 11,12, 13, and 15 in the Hill Center Lot 81 facing 18th Ave (behind the Dean of Ingram Common's residence). These spots are designated by yellow signs marked "Workstation Migration". If those spots are not available and you do not have an active Zone 1 parking permit, please park along 18th Ave in the metered parking to avoid being ticketed. 

The Reservation Page works best on Edge, Internet Explorer (IE), or Google Chrome web browsers, please try one of these when using the link to access the Reservation Page. 

Also, try clearing the cookies and cached files for your browser. Sometimes there are cached credentials in the background that cause certain websites not to work properly.

If your laptop is broken or damaged, we will not be able to perform a repair and complete the migration during your appointment.  Please submit a support request by emailing it@vanderbilt.edu, texting 615.343.IT4U(4848), or calling 615.343.9999.

If team members are due for lifecycle, please have them contact genesis@vanderbilt.edu, so that we can validate with IT where they are in the process.

Unfortunately, all laptops and desktops will have to return to campus for this process. Please email genesis@vanderbilt.edu with the details of your situation for further assistance. 

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment at the Hill Center Tech Hub, visit this link. 

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment at your on-campus office location, visit this link. 

Any device that is connecting to the Vanderbilt University domain, for example: 

  • Research instruments
  • Satellite locations
  • Research computers
  • Teaching labs

Personal devices such as phones and tablets are not required to go through this process. If you wish to have the workstations in the Research lab migrated at the same time, email the project team at genesis@vanderbilt.edu. Teaching/Classroom labs will be handled during the normal classroom refresh process over the summer.

If you have any additional questions regarding your device, feel free to email the project team at genesis@vanderbilt.edu. 

Please email the project team at genesis@vanderbilt.edu to discuss options to accommodate this request. 

This migration will only impact Vanderbilt University's identities. For additional questions, email genesis@vanderbilt.edu.