CAEN Accounts
- What is a CAEN account?
- What are my rights and responsibilities concerning my CAEN account?
- What is the difference between a CAEN account and an ITCS (UMICH) account?
- Who can have a CAEN account?
- How do I get a CAEN account?
- I am an new, incoming student to the College of Engineering. When do I get my CAEN computing account?
- I am not an Engineering student, but I am taking an Engineering course. Can I have a CAEN computing account?
- I just got my account. When can I log into a CAEN lab workstation?
- I tried to log into a CAEN Windows computer, and I received an error stating that my account was 'Disabled' or 'Locked out.' What happened?
- Every time I try to log into a Linux workstation, I either immediately get logged out or simply cannot run any software. What is wrong?
- I am not registered for classes in the Fall or Winter semester. What will happen to my account?
- Can I use the CAEN labs during the Spring or Summer if I am not enrolled in courses?
- How long will my CAEN account remain active after I graduate?
- Does CAEN provide any sort of alumni account service for those who graduate from the CoE?
What is a CAEN account?
All University of Michigan (U-M) students, faculty, and staff receive an ITCS (umich.edu) computing account. ITCS is the central computing organization to U-M, and provides account services as part of their Basic Computing Package (BCP) including online file storage, a generous amount of email storage on mail.umich.edu, and black & white printing.
A CAEN computing account is separate from an ITCS account. It provides supplemental computing services specifically for the College of Engineering (CoE) community, in addition to what ITCS provides, and grants access to CAEN computing labs. Additional account privileges include a large amount of network-attached storage (NAS) space, printing in CAEN computer labs, and access to all CAEN-supported software. For more information refer to:
In most cases, it is necessary to have an ITCS computing account before obtaining a CAEN account. ITCS provides most email services to the CoE, and users will need their ITCS password to log into CAEN computers.
What are my rights and responsibilities concerning my CAEN account?
All of your rights and responsibilities can be found in the CAEN Conditions of Use:
What is the difference between a CAEN account and an ITCS (UMICH) account?
Information Technology Central Services (ITCS) accounts are considered the main computing account for all University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff. ITCS accounts are included with the ITCS Basic Computing Package (BCP), and are administered by the ITCS Accounts Office. ITCS accounts offer access to U-M facilities, resources and services, except when controlled by another department such as CAEN. Additional information can be found at the introduction to the BCP on the ITCS web site.
CAEN computing accounts are administered by CAEN, and are only available to College of Engineering students, faculty, and staff. A CAEN account is a set of services, supplemental to an ITCS account, that grants access to CAEN computers and resources. Among the services that are included with CAEN accounts is a large amount of network-attached storage (NAS) space. For more information on CAEN accounts, see the following web page:
Who can have a CAEN account?
See this page for more information about eligibility requirements:
How do I get a CAEN account?
Please see the CAEN accounts web page at:
I am an new, incoming student to the College of Engineering. When do I get my CAEN computing account?
All new, incoming (graduate and undergraduate) students to the College of Engineering receive access to CAEN computing resources during their orientation (typically in the Summer term). If you choose not to attend an orientation session, you will need to wait until the first day of classes to obtain your account from the CAEN Hotline.
I am not an Engineering student, but I am taking an Engineering course. Can I have a CAEN computing account?
Yes. However, CAEN lab printing allocations and NAS file storage quotas are reduced. Non-Engineering students receive the following:
- 1 GB of network-attached storage (NAS) space
- $15.00 toward printing in CAEN computing labs
I just got my account. When can I log into a CAEN lab workstation?
It takes one (1) business day for your account information to propagate to all CAEN computers. Subsequently, email will take an additional two (2) business days to become active. So, it may take a total of three (3) business days for your CAEN account to become fully functional.
I tried to log into a CAEN Windows computer, and I received an error stating that my account was 'Disabled' or 'Locked out.' What happened?
In order to log into a CAEN Windows computer, you must authenticate using your uniqname and UMICH.EDU (Kerberos) password. The system then uses a pass-thru authentication method, using your Kerberos credentials to gain access to Windows Active Directory services. In many cases after several login attempts are made over a short period of time, the Active Directory portion (also known as UMROOT) of the account can become locked, and prevent re-login for up to 15 minutes. More information on the pass-thru authentication method can be found at the U-M Windows Home:
In order to prevent this lock-out from occurring, you must set your UMROOT password to be the same as your UMICH.EDU password. This will allow authentication to Windows services without the risk of disabling the account due to failed logins.
To set your UMROOT password, you should visit the following web page:
You will be asked to autheticate with your UMICH.EDU password before you can set your UMROOT password. You should then set your UMROOT password to be the same as your UMICH.EDU. If you have trouble using either of these passwords, contact the ITCS Accounts Office to get them reset.
Every time I try to log into a Linux workstation, I either immediately get logged out or simply cannot run any software. What is wrong?
There are two possible causes for this. The first being an AFS quota problem and the second being you might have deleted/altered your dotfiles .
- To check your quota, log into a PC or Mac and SSH to a Linux host (i.e. login.engin.umich.edu). At the command prompt type the following:
fs lq ~
If it says that you are over quota please visit this FAQ.
There may be something wrong with your dotfiles. Dotfiles are files in your home directory whose names begin with a period (.) character. These files are used to describe session initialization procedures and store software customizations, and are essential for working in Linux. If you think your dotfiles have been corrupted in some way, or have been deleted altogether, you can reset them. One sure sign that there may be something wrong with your dotfiles in how the Linux prompt appears to you, for example, if the prompt showed the entire machine name:
example.engin.umich.edu%
instead of simply:
example%
To fix your dotfiles, log into Windows and SSH to a Linux host (i.e. login.engin.umich.edu). At the command prompt type the following to repair your dotfiles:
/usr/caen/bin/redotThis will move your dotfiles to your Public directory, and rename them
.dotfile.oldor.dotfile.older, which deletes any older versions. Then redot copies the standard CAEN dotfiles into your directory.Errors in .login, .cshrc, or similar shell initialization files may leave the account unusable. After modifying the .cshrc or .login file, test the file with
source .cshrcto determine if there are errors in the file. Then fix any errors prior to logging off the machine. If the errors in the file make your current shell unusable (unable to edit the .cshrc file), then issue the command:example% source /usr/caen/skel/sys.cshrc
This should restore the account to a point at which you can fix the errors in your file(s).
For more information type redot --help or redot --example If you continue to have problems please contact the CAEN Hotline.
I am not registered for classes in the Fall or Winter semester. What will happen to my account?
If you are not registered for classes in the Fall or Winter semesters, your account will expire after the first few weeks of the semester. You will receive notices via email before your account has expired to give you time to backup your files. Otherwise, the files in your NAS space will be backed up by CAEN, and you will be able to request those files by contacting the CAEN Backups team.
CAEN strongly urges you to retrieve the files stored in your CAEN account early, to save future time and trouble. You may copy your files to a CD-R from any CAEN computer, or SFTP them to your home computer. See this page for information on how to access/download your NAS files:
Note: CAEN reserves the right to validate and expire CAEN computing access for any student who is no longer eligible for reasons such as withdrawing from courses or transferring out of Engineering during the semester.
Can I use the CAEN labs during the Spring or Summer if I am not enrolled in courses?
You may use any service provided with your CAEN account, including access to CAEN computer labs, during the Spring/Summer terms as long as:
- You had valid CAEN account, including lab access, during the previous Winter term, and
- You are registered for classes in the coming Fall term.
Note: CAEN reserves the right to validate and expire access to CAEN labs for any student who is no longer eligible for reasons such as withdrawing from courses or transferring out of Engineering during the semester.
How long will my CAEN account remain active after I graduate?
- If you graduate at the end of the Winter, Spring or Summer semesters, you will have complete computer and lab access until the beginning of the following Fall semester.
- If you graduate at the end of the Fall semester, your account will expire in the beginning of the following Winter semester.
In either case, you will receive an email message three weeks in advance of your CAEN account expiring. This notice is provided as a warning to give you a chance to rectify any mistakes in your status, or make a personal backup or your files and email. For more information on CAEN computing account expirations, please see:
Does CAEN provide any sort of alumni account service for those who graduate from the CoE?
No, CAEN does not provide any alumni account services. However, ITCS does provide a service that should fit many alumni needs called a U-M Online Account. For more information, please refer to the following web site:
