Share This Article
In the cloud era, many IT admins need an Active Directory® (AD) migration service, but not in the way they might expect.
When one hears “AD migration service,” their first thought might be of moving trees into new forests or swapping around objects inside of an existing forest. AD migration service could also allude to migrating to a new Active Directory instance on a new Windows® Server iteration. These processes might be executed through a Microsoft add-on software component or a third-party consultant who will do it for a fee.
The above are examples of AD migration services, but given the current IT landscape, these services might just be perpetuating a larger issue. Some IT admins looking for an AD migration service are thinking more toward a bigger picture: They’re trying to migrate off Active Directory entirely. Thankfully, there is an AD migration service, available from the cloud, that can help IT organizations forego AD altogether.
Why Migrate Off AD?
The average AD instance as we know it is slowly losing its relevance in the cloud era. As it currently stands, AD needs a host of add-ons to properly function for most modern IT organizations. After all, with a cadre of cloud applications and infrastructure in play for many of today’s companies, not to mention all of the Mac® and Linux® workstations lining desks, Active Directory is somewhat ill-equipped.
Simply put, the modern enterprise is no longer limited to using solely Windows and on-prem resources as they were when AD came to be. As such, IT organizations have resorted to employing add-ons, namely web application single sign-on (SSO) solutions, identity bridges, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) tools, to cover their burgeoning identity management needs.
Unfortunately, IT organizations are simply perpetuating their problems by compensating for AD’s weaknesses with these add-on utilities and services. Fortunately, there is an AD migration service available to help IT admins totally shift off AD.
AD Migration Service from the Cloud
By shifting their identity management to a cloud directory service, organizations can centralize their identity management under a single, web-based solution. That way, instead of constantly adding “patches” to their AD instance, IT admins can reimagine their AD identity management altogether.
The new JumpCloud® Active Directory Migration Utility (ADMU) helps IT organizations seamlessly migrate off AD and into a cloud-based Directory-as-a-Service®. The ADMU leverages the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) alongside the choice of a GUI, command line EXE, or PowerShell to facilitate the full migration of an existing AD domain user to the cloud directory service.
How Does the ADMU Work?
The ADMU operates as follows:
- Once invoked, the ADMU intakes migration parameters, including information about the user/system being migrated like username and password, as well as the JumpCloud system connect key.
- The domain profile is captured at its current state, which is then transferred to a migration folder using the ADK and duplicated as a local account.
- A local account is created on the machine using the migration parameters and the migration folder.
- The JumpCloud system connect key is used to install the JumpCloud Agent and add the system into JumpCloud.
- (Optional) The system is unbound from AD.
- (Optional) ADMU restarts the machine to complete the JumpCloud Agent install.
The process is almost entirely automated, with fairly little interfacing on the part of the IT admin.
Once the ADMU process is complete, IT organizations will find their users and systems fully detached from their AD instance and ready to be used in JumpCloud Directory-as-a-Service®, the first cloud directory service.
With Directory-as-a-Service, IT organizations provide their end users with a single set of credentials to authenticate to virtually all of their IT assets and resources. Admins can subsequently manage permissions and automate their environments from a single cloud admin portal.
Learn More
If you would like to learn more about JumpCloud and the ADMU, please contact us and request to speak with our Solutions Architect team. We’d be happy to facilitate your AD migration.
