Joining the Stanford Windows Infrastructure gives your group the benefits of integration with many of Stanford's other systems while allowing it to retain considerable autonomy in its local domain.
Administrative Systems manages the Stanford Windows Infrastructure to address issues such as:
- Single sign-on
- Location-independent access to resources
- Microsoft Windows platform manageability and security
For more information on the infrastructure, visit the Administrative Systems Stanford Windows Infrastructure site: windows.stanford.edu.
Features
- Managed infrastructure: Administrative Systems manages and backs up DNS, directory replication, and domain controllers; monitors the environment 24/7; and provides a physically secure environment for domain controllers. The savings in asset costs and support staff overhead can be significant.
- Single sign-on: When your users log in, Kerberos ensures the university's Windows- and non-Windows-based services know who they are so they only need to log in once. They can access University email, connect to WebAuth-protected websites, and use other Stanford services without logging in again.
- Increased security: Windows 2003 and later uses Kerberos, a network authentication protocol designed to provide enhanced security for client/server applications. And, both the campus Security Office and the Stanford Windows Infrastructure group closely monitor and evaluate computer activity across the campus network.
- Central account management: The SUNet account system manages all single sign-on processes such as creating and deleting accounts and resetting passwords. Local administrators still have full autonomy over local resources but you're relieved of repetitive account-management tasks. Groups in the campus registry automatically become Active Directory security groups and changes to a user's departmental affiliation automatically reflect in the Windows Infrastructure.
Getting started
To migrate your department's Windows resources into the infrastructure, submit a HelpSU request to Windows Systems or an OrderIT request to schedule an initial meeting.
It can take between a couple of days to a couple of months to join, depending on the complexity of your existing environment. We'll help you assess whether joining is the right thing to do, what you need to do to get started, and help establish a timeframe to complete the work.
To join the Windows Network Infrastructure, review the information on the Security technical notes page. For more information on migration, read this case study.
Please see the Windows Infrastructure website at windows.stanford.edu.
