University IT and Data Center

On 1 August, our team was joined by two new trainees: Marek Stolz and Florian Katzenski began their training as IT specialists for system integration at the University Computer and Data Center. Over the next three years, they will work in all departments of the HRZ and get to know all the services we offer. ‘I chose the HRZ because here you come into contact with so many different departments, such as server and network departments, all under one roof,’ emphasises Florian. Marek adds: ‘I am very interested in the size of the HRZ and its infrastructure. In addition, the HRZ is a very experienced training company.’ Both are looking forward to the next three years and the experiences they will gain here. ‘We are very happy to have the new trainees,’ says Karin Ahorner, head of the HRZ training programme. ‘They will be welcomed in all departments and will learn everything they need to know in a forward-looking profession so that they can later work in an interesting IT position.’ Maybe even at the HRZ?

As announced in the circular on 24.07.25, the University of Bonn works actively to heighten cybersecurity for our electronic services. As announced in the fall of 2024, the University will be introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA) when logging in via Uni-ID, among other measures. The MFA rollout is being coordinated within the framework of a DiCe project, and has been agreed with the central committees and bodies. All University employees will receive a Yubikey security key as second factor in a phased rollout process. Students are not affected by the change at this time. Why use MFA? The Uni-ID is used as access credential for a wide range of electronic services which in many cases involve the accessing of personal data or sensitive IT infrastructure processes. For certain services, password-only security is insufficient, as passwords are often reused and easily stolen and crackable. MFA is also an important criterion for fulfilling requirements under the BSI-Grundschutz basic security standard, which all universities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have agreed to uphold.  Instructions and support For help see the University IT documentation on Confluence or contact the University IT MFA support desk by email at mfa-support@uni-bonn.de for assistance on any issues concerning multi-factor authentication for Uni-ID login. The available instructions and support will ensure that you can get back to work as quickly as possible after encountering any problems, such as a lost or broken Yubikey occurring on a business trip. What do you have to do? The use of security keys (Yubikeys) is mandatory for all employees. A hardware security key was chosen because it offers greater security than software-based solutions, due to being physically separate from the user device. These keys protect against phishing attacks and allow secure storage of sensitive data.  Depending on your organizational unit, you will receive your personal Yubikey either from University IT directly or from a local distribution point. You will be informed by email to your University of Bonn email address of your distribution point and when your Yubikey is available for pickup.  The key can be used on any user device. We recommend carrying it on your work keychain so you have it with you at all times. Please make sure to not leave your Yubikey anywhere unattended. Upon ending employment at the University of Bonn, the Yubikey must be returned to the distribution point.

The University of Bonn's central e-mail system, operated by the University IT and Data Centre, has been undergoing a complete overhaul for several months. A new email system was set up at the same time. All users of the central email system are now being gradually migrated to the new email system. New Uni-ID users (students and employees) will be created directly in the new email system from noon on 28.05.2025. Update (17.06.25): Employees' e-mail accounts are not expected to be migrated to the new system until 23.06.25 (instead of 16.06. as planned). The new email system has the following new features: (Updated on 07.07.25) The previous size of your old mailbox will initially be retained. Once the migration phase is complete, the default mailbox size will be adjusted. (Updated on 02.07.25) If your mailbox is 85% full, a warning will appear A new webmail interface (https://email.uni-bonn.de/SOGo/so/login?language=English) Uni-ID mailboxes and subdomain mailboxes will be merged. This means that all emails are available in a standardised way via one mailbox Focus on IMAP and discontinuation of MAPI support Improvements in the area of IT security. Who is affected? All members of the university are automatically provided with an e-mail inbox on the central e-mail server, which will be migrated to the new system. The pilot phase with test users began in May, and HRZ colleagues have already tested the new system. Following the successful completion of this test phase, it is now the next group's turn: the students' email accounts will be migrated to the new email system from 2 June 2025. If there are no technical delays, the migration of employees' email accounts is then planned from 23 June 2025, which is expected to take four weeks. From September, it will be the alumni's turn.In addition, there may have been separate subdomain email accounts at individual institutes, which are also located on the central email system. Their migration will take place in consultation with the IT administrator of the institute after all Uni-ID mailboxes have been moved.As soon as your email account is scheduled for a specific migration date, you will be informed of the specific date by email at least three days in advance. The next steps will be explained to you in this e-mail. Your e-mail account will be blocked during the migration. Depending on the size and complexity of your mailbox, the migration can take from a few seconds to (in individual cases) 2 hours. Incoming emails are stored temporarily and are not lost. What should email users do in advance? We recommend that email users back up their out-of-office notifications, any email rules, signatures and calendars from the web interface of the old email system before the day of the move so that they can be restored in the new system. Detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of this website.You can save your personal link to the migration status in your browser bookmarks, as you will not have access to your mailbox on the email server during the migration. As soon as the migration is complete, you can log in to the new e-mail system at https://email.uni-bonn.de.You may then need to customise your email client (see instructions below).

The IT structures of the University of Bonn are characterised by a decentralised IT. In addition to the central IT service providers HRZ (academic institutions) and Department 2 (administration), which provide many IT services (network, VMs, user ID, etc.), the work in the institutes and faculties is the responsibility of the decentralised administrators. With the IT Admin Welcome Day, we offer new administrators the opportunity to create sufficient clarity about roles, mutual requirements and perspectives in this network. We invite you to an information event at the HRZ for the first time on 11 September from 10:00 - 16:00. You can register here. HRZ-Café The HRZ Café is one of several exchange rounds organised by the HRZ. It was founded by Martin Ragg, Deputy Director of the HRZ, back in 2014. In its current form, it recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. It provides an opportunity for university-wide open dialogue between the IT administrators of the institutes and the HRZ on all current IT matters, innovations and challenges that the field of work entails. ‘In this way, we create synergies and ensure that all admins who organise IT in their institutes on a decentralised basis are also informed about all important matters, can discuss them with other admins and clarify questions,’ emphasises Martin Ragg. ‘Networking with each other is also a key element, as it is often helpful to know who to contact about certain HRZ services.’ Collegial cooperation, the spirit of the HRZ, is also at the forefront here.