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AFNET migration nears finish here

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  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Every desktop computer at Tinker and all associated electronic mailboxes have been migrated to the Air Force Network, officials in the 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate said recently.

The migration involved 17,954 computers and the 24,054 mailboxes (some users have more than one mailbox, and some PCs in Bldg. 3001, for example, are used by multiple mechanics), records show.

The project started in early July and was completed on Aug. 22, nearly six weeks ahead of the Sept. 30 projected end date, said Edward Graham, SC management analyst. The biggest block of mailboxes migrated at one time was 6,500, a task accomplished in one day, he said.

"And we managed this during the furloughs," SC Chief Technology Officer Mike Valentine added. The migration team was sensitive to the reduced number of available hours and worked to minimize downtime and impacts to system users, he said.

In the Air Force Sustainment Center, the AFNET migration has been completed not only at Tinker but also at Robins AFB, Ga., and will start at Hill AFB, Utah, by the end of September, Mr. Valentine said. AFNET migration also has been completed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command.

The migration process is still under way "behind the scenes" on some of the computer servers at Tinker, Mr. Valentine said on Sept. 11. "Tinker has hundreds of servers, ranging from file servers to servers that host unique applications for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex," said Mr. Graham.

When that process is finished, some of those servers will be "repurposed" and put to other uses, but some, such as the base email servers, will be decommissioned, Mr. Graham said. Doing so will reduce Tinker's energy consumption "considerably" because a computer server array emits a lot of heat, requiring a high-volume air conditioning system to keep the units functional, he noted.

One of the changes that became obvious immediately after the migration was the change in email addresses. Everyone at Tinker -- military, civilian and contractor alike -- has an "enterprise" email address that includes his or her first and last names and ends with "us.af.mil." The "tinker.af.mil" domain name has been dropped, although email bearing the Tinker domain name will continue to be delivered to users until their next PCS or separation from the Air Force.

By switching to the AFNET, email addresses will follow the user. Network and email can be accessed from any AFNET-enabled computer anywhere, by using the individual's Common Access Card login. "The lost time that often resulted from a permanent change of station while awaiting a new account is eliminated" by the AFNET, Mr. Graham related. "When you arrive at a new station, simply go to a computer and log on to start using your enterprise email address."

Another benefit of AFNET migration is that the Enterprise Service Desk is accessible around-the-clock for resolution of email and network issues.

Previously, Tinker's help desk operated 18 hours a day, five days a week, Monday through Friday, except on holidays and base "down" days.

In contrast, ESD help desk personnel are on duty 24/7/365. The Air Force has four help desks: at Lackland AFB, Texas; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Gunter Annex, Ala.; and at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Plus, the ESD has rollover capability. When you call the universal help desk number, the call is routed automatically to one of the four sites; if all technicians at that particular site are busy helping other customers, your call is routed automatically to the next available technician at an alternate site.

Yet another advantage is that AFNET reduces operational costs and system complexity. Standardization has simplified operations and maintenance.

Eventually the Air Force intends to unify telephone, computer and video services, and route them all through the blue ether cables connected to base computers -- "just like it's done on your home computer, in the commercial world," Mr. Valentine said.

Consolidating those services could save Tinker tens of thousands of dollars, Mr. Graham said. To illustrate, "A video teleconferencing site cost $25,000 each, but a webcam on your PC costs about $100," he explained.

"The past couple of months have kept us very busy," Mr. Graham said.

"We had some glitches along the way, and had to pause to straighten out some issues, but we never came to a complete halt," Mr. Valentine recalled. "Things will stabilize soon," he predicted.

According to the Air Force Network Integration Center, about 845,000 users at 418 sites, including the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, ultimately will migrate to the AFNET.

Officials say the principal reason for the conversion is to "stabilize/optimize the Air Force Global Information Grid to improve defense and maintenance."