University Computer Help Desk

What is a DLID account?

A DLID (Departmental Login ID) is a special kind of account in Active Directory. DLID accounts are similar to ULID accounts, but exist only in Active Directory and, as a result, cannot authenticate against the campus LDAP system. This means that a DLID account is more limited than a ULID account.

DLID accounts are granted to student workers who need access to Exchange for their jobs on campus. Student ULID accounts are not authorized to be Exchange-enabled, which makes the use of DLID accounts necessary for student workers who need access to Exchange. DLID accounts might also be granted to individuals for other reasons.

How can I get a DLID account?

If you have a student worker who needs access to Exchange for his or her job, you can request Exchange access for that person by visiting the Support and Requests web page on the University Computer Help Desk website. Click on Student Worker Exchange Account Request and complete the form.

You can also contact your department's technical support staff for assistance with creating a DLID account. This may be necessary in cases where a student worker needs a DLID account to access a system or service that would otherwise be inaccessible to the student using his or her ULID account.

If you need to request a DLID for some reason other than to give a student worker access to Exchange, you can contact the Help Desk. The Help Desk will create an Incident for your request and forward it to the Active Directory system administrators in CISS SYSTEMS. The system administrators will review your request before approving or denying the DLID.

If you contact the Help Desk, be sure to include the following information:

• Your full name
• Your ULID
• Contact phone number
• Explain why you need a DLID account and what it will be used for
• Indicate what you would like the DLID to be named (see below for naming conventions)

How does a DLID differ from a ULID?

Unlike ULID accounts, DLIDs are only assigned to a small subset of people at the University (mainly student workers). ULIDs are assigned to all faculty, staff, and students at Illinois State.

DLIDs use a different naming convention than ULIDs. For student workers, DLIDs follow this format: dept_ULID. For example, if Reggie Redbird worked for Computer Infrastructure Support Services as a student worker, his DLID would be ciss_rrredbi. DLIDs created by your department's technical support staff may not follow this format.

A ULID can be used to log in to many campus systems, including iCampus, RedbirdMail, Active Directory, etc. A DLID exists only in Active Directory and therefore can only be used to log in to systems that integrate with Active Directory, the most common system being Exchange.

You are required to change your ULID password every 60 days. No such requirement exists for a DLID account.

• 1784: Resetting a password for a DLID account