What a ride!
In August 2017, OMT negotiated with UFIT to host storage space for Florida Museum’s data. Moving brings us into compliance with the University’s long-term IT goals, and affords us the redundancy and security benefits of UF’s East Campus Data center. So, we set out to move our network shares to new infrastructure.
OMT understands the potential this kind of operation has for disruption, so we developed a migration plan to minimize the impact. We first migrated the volumes that affected the least number of people and worked our way toward the volumes that get the most use (e.g. S and T drives). Communication is always key, so we notified and coordinated with affected personnel before and after each migration operation.
We employed the same tried-and-true methods we have used in the past to ensure the integrity of our data during the transfers. In addition, we introduced the use of Microsoft’s Distributed File System (DFS) which abstracts the physical location of our files from the point of view of the desktop computer, making this effectively “the last time” we will move our shares.
What changed?
Before this migration, we accessed our data through an exciting combination of the P, Q, R, S, T, and U drives. With the migration now complete, all of our data is now accessed through the N and U drives (Windows) or from a single Network Volume (Macintosh):
| Operating System | Pre-Migration | Post-Migration |
| Windows |  |
 |
| Macintosh |  |
 |
How do I access this new share?
As indicated in the above images, this will appear on Windows workstations as the N drive. Here is a breakdown of possible work locations and how you will connect to the new share:
| Operating System | Work Location | How to access the share |
| Windows | Museum wired network | N drive |
| Wireless + FLMNH VPN | First you will connect to the VPN. Then, you will map a drive to \\ad.ufl.edu\flmnh | |
| Macintosh | Museum wired network | Connect to smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh |
| Wireless + FLMNH VPN | First you will connect to the VPN. Then, you will connect to smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh |
Migration Summary
Use this table to help you locate your files based on where they used to live:
| Division | Share | Pre-Migration Path | Post-Migration Path |
| Directors Office | AV | – | N:\DirectorsOffice\Photography\av |
| cifs://flmnh-momcorp.ad.ufl.edu/shares/av | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > Photography > av | ||
| Directors Office | AV2 | – | N:\DirectorsOffice\Photography\av2 |
| cifs://flmnh-momcorp.ad.ufl.edu/shares/av2 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > Photography > av2 | ||
| Directors Office | AV3 | – | N:\DirectorsOffice\Photography\av3 |
| cifs://flmnh-momcorp.ad.ufl.edu/shares/av3 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > Photography > av3 | ||
| Directors Office | Graphics | – | N:\DirectorsOffice\Graphics\graphics |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/graphics | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > Graphics > graphics | ||
| Directors Office | Graphics Archive | – | N:\DirectorsOffice\Graphics\graphicsarchive |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/graphicsarchive | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > Graphics > graphicsarchive | ||
| Directors Office | Helpdesk | H:\ | N:\DirectorsOffice\OMT\Helpdesk |
| cifs://flmnh-morris.ad.ufl.edu/helpdesk | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > OMT > Helpdesk | ||
| Directors Office | OMT | O:\ | N:\DirectorsOffice\OMT |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/omt | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > DirectorsOffice > OMT | ||
| EPP | Exhibits | R:\Exhibits | N:\EPP\Exhibits |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/Exhibits | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > EPP > Exhibits | ||
| Natural History | Birds | S:\BIR | N:\NaturalHistory\Birds\BIR |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/BIR | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Birds > BIR | ||
| Natural History | Bird Sounds | P:\bir_sounds | N:\NaturalHistory\Birds\bir_sounds |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/bir_sounds | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Birds > bir_sounds | ||
| Natural History | EA | R:\EA | N:\NaturalHistory\EA\EA |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/EA | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > EA > EA | ||
| Natural History | EA Scans | P:\EA Scans | N:\NaturalHistory\EA\EA_Scans |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/EA Scans | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > EA > EA_Scans | ||
| Natural History | Fishes | S:\Fishes | N:\NaturalHistory\Fishes\Fishes |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/Fishes | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Fishes > Fishes | ||
| Natural History | Fishes Images | P:\Fishes-Images | N:\NaturalHistory\Fishes\Fishes_Images |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/Fishes-Images | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Fishes > Fishes_Images | ||
| Natural History | Herb | S:\HERB | N:\NaturalHistory\Herbarium\HERB |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/HERB | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Herbarium > HERB | ||
| Natural History | HRP | S:\HRP | N:\NaturalHistory\Herpetology\HRP |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/HRP | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Herpetology > HRP | ||
| Natural History | Herpdata1 | – | N:\NaturalHistory\Herpetology\herpdata1 |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpdata1 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Herpetology > herpdata1 | ||
| Natural History | Herpdata2 | – | N:\NaturalHistory\Herpetology\herpdata2 |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpdata2 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Herpetology > herpdata2 | ||
| Natural History | INF | S:\INF | N:\NaturalHistory\Informatics\INF |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/INF | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Informatics > INF | ||
| Natural History | INF-RES | R:\INF-RES | N:\NaturalHistory\Informatics\INF-RES |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/INF-RES | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Informatics > INF-RES | ||
| Natural History | INV | R:\INV | N:\NaturalHistory\IZ\INV |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/INV | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > IZ > INV | ||
| Natural History | IP | R:\IP | N:\NaturalHistory\IP\IP |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/IP | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > IP | ||
| Natural History | IVP | S:\IVP | N:\NaturalHistory\IP\IVP |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/IVP | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > IP > IVP | ||
| Natural History | IZDATA | R:\IZDATA | N:\NaturalHistory\IZ\IZDATA |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/IZDATA | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > IZ > IZDATA | ||
| Natural History | LEPS | R:\LEPS | N:\NaturalHistory\Lepidoptera\LEPS |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/LEPS | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Lepidoptera > LEPS | ||
| Natural History | MAM | S:\MAM | N:\NaturalHistory\Mammals\MAM |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/MAM | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh/NaturalHistory/Mammals/MAM | ||
| Natural History | Mammals Genetics Data | P:\Mammals Genetics Data | N:\NaturalHistory\Mammals\MAMGEN |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/Mammals Genetics Data | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Mammals > MAMGEN | ||
| Natural History | South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography |
R:\South Florida Archaeology & Ethnograpny |
N:\NaturalHistory\SFAE |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared3/South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > SFAE | ||
| Natural History | Soltis | – | N:\NaturalHistory\Soltis |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/soltis | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Soltis | ||
| Natural History | Soltis2 | – | N:\NaturalHistory\Soltis |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/soltis2 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > Soltis | ||
| Natural History | VP (Shared) | S:\VP | N:\NaturalHistory\VP\VP-S |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared/vp | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > VP > VP-S | ||
| Natural History | VP (Projects) | P:\vp | N:\NaturalHistory\VP\VP-P |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/vp | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > VP > VP-P | ||
| Natural History | VP2 | P:\vp2 | N:\NaturalHistory\VP\VP2 |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/vp2 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > VP > VP2 | ||
| Natural History | VP Images | P:\vp_images | N:\NaturalHistory\VP\vp_images |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/projects/vp_images | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > NaturalHistory > VP > vp_images | ||
| FLMNH | Home Folders | U:\ | U:\ |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/homedir[123]/gatorlink | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > Home > gatorlink | ||
| FLMNH | Public Files | Q:\ | N:\Public |
| cifs://flmnh-philip.ad.ufl.edu/public | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > Public | ||
| FLMNH | Shared | S:\ | N:\Shared |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > Shared | ||
| FLMNH | Shared2 | T:\ | N:\Shared |
| cifs://farnsworth.flmnh.ufl.edu/shared2 | smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh > Shared |
Helpful OMT Tutorial Videos
Do you need a refresher on how we connect to our shares from home or abroad? You can connect to our shares from any internet-connected computer with the use of the FLMNH VPN:
- First, you will connect to the VPN.
- Windows users will then will map a drive to: \\ad.ufl.edu\flmnh
- Macintosh users will then connect to: smb://ad.ufl.edu/flmnh
- Macintosh users, please also see our addendum video.