MAFB to migrate to AFNet Sept. 26

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The current server that Malmstrom computers run on -a program called Legacy- will soon be a thing of the past.

Malmstrom will operate under a centralized exchange server located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., when it transitions into AFNet starting Sept. 26.

Malmstrom is the first Global Strike Command base to experience the migration that is estimated to take one month.

While share-drives will stay at Malmstrom, email and Blackberry servers will be located at Peterson AFB.

Squadrons will have a mass migration; group commanders and VIPs will be migrated through a scheduled appointment with the 341st Communications Squadron.

Starting Sept. 19, members of Malmstrom AFB will call the enterprise service desk at (DSN) 510-435-7337(HELPDESK) for help trouble shooting. The enterprise service desk at this number will open up a trouble ticket and try to solve the issue via phone; if the ticket cannot be resolved via phone, it will be sent to Malmstrom's Comm Focal Point, formally known as the Network Control Center Help Desk with the 341st CS.

This is a huge transition for the Air Force and for bases all around the world.

"This is a very big project," said Sabrina Cogger, supervisory technology specialist with the 341st CS. "It's going to be a big learning process for the base."

To help the transition run smoothly, a team of enterprise service desks trainers will work with client system technicians at Malmstrom to teach them the process of the migration.

The new AFNet environment is going to take a while getting used to, however, there are benefits.

"Users will soon have a mailbox size of 100MG with a warning at 80MG," Cogger said.
In addition to an increased mailbox size, the old first.last@malmstrom.af.mil email address will change to a standard first.last@us.af.mil address.

"The new email address is an email address for life; no more changing email addresses after moving to a new duty station," said Dustin Ostberg, system administrator with the 341st CS. "The end goal is to take your CAC card no matter where you PCS and be able to plug it into any Air Force computer."

But with a new centralized email account comes a few things that Team Malmstrom needs to know.

"When the exchange servers are moved to Peterson AFB, there will be a noticeable delay in opening up email," Cogger said. "Opening up large attachments will also take longer."

Despite a delay with email, the benefits of AFNet outweigh the negative aspects.

"By migrating into AFNet and having standardized email, network security will increase because vulnerabilities will be easier to identify, therefore decreasing operational costs," Cogger said.

The most important thing members of Malmstrom need to know is that starting Sept. 19 they need to call 510-HELPDESK for any computer problems.

Cogger encourages Team Malmstrom to back up all pertinent information on a portable hard drive or a disc before Sept. 19th- because "everyone needs to take accountability for backing up their own data."

The projected date to complete AFNet migration - Air Force wide - is December 2012.