Dear CC Colleagues,
Thanks to everyone for their understanding and flexibility
during the server migration yesterday. We hope that we
didn't interrupt your workflow too much, and we hope that
you all have wonderfully clean offices and filing cabinets
now! :) This is a follow-up message to let you know what
has been accomplished, as well as what issues remain (which
we are working hard on).
Yesterday afternoon and evening was the time frame for
cutting over our 100-ish campus servers to the new network.
Most servers have now been migrated successfully, and
we have also redesigned - or at long last implemented
- some important layers of security (e.g., redundant firewalls;
a "demilitarized zone" for separating internal
resources from off-campus access; etc.). Most network
services were fully functional until about 3:55 p.m. yesterday
while we worked with vendors and finalized firewall and
security settings throughout the early afternoon. The
Internet and other network services then went "down"
and remained inaccessible for the next 2 1/2 hours, but
in turn, we restored the most important services in priority
order (e.g., Internet access, Web, email, file server
access, Banner, c3po, etc.). The Network & Systems
team worked well into the evening on other issues that
could be coordinated locally after the planned outage
window ended at 6:30 p.m.
As of this morning, here are some known issues and/or
tips:
* Email is performing a bit slowly (and the full Outlook
client is popping up with "trying to retrieve data").
This is due to a security setting on our new firewall,
and it is one of our top priorities to fix this morning.
In fact, at about 10:05 a.m., the team made some changes
that we believe fixed this issue. If you are experiencing
slowness, please close out of Outlook and then log back
in. If you see problems recur, contact the Help Desk,
but most people are finding this simple fix works great.
* Tiger and Ariel (two critically important library servers)
are not yet cut over to the new network. This is also
one of our top priorities to fix this morning.
* VPN (secure off-campus) access and the wireless network
are not yet working on the new network, but these will
be addressed after the email and library issues are resolved.
* The Colorado College website (and its many, many pages)
should be visible from off campus to most Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). But please be aware that different ISPs
propagate changes in Web addresses at different paces,
and so some people might experience issues over the next
24 hours or so. We have tested our CC website connectivity
with as many ISPs as we could (e.g., Comcast, Qwest, Cingular,
MSN, etc.), and most have refreshed their settings and
render our website beautifully.
* Some of the changes that we implemented in our firewall
and security scheme will allow us to address requirements
for "trackability" when it comes to any notices
we might receive from the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA) or the Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA), for example. This is a good opportunity
to share a friendly reminder that each of us should act
responsibly and follow copyright guidelines vis-a-vis
downloading and sharing music, movies, etc. Here is a
link for a bit more information on this topic: http://www.coloradocollege.edu/its/aboutits/sharing_music_movies.asp.
Again, thanks, and if you have any questions or experience
any issues, please don't hesitate to contact us.
~ Your Help Desk Staff, x6449, Barnes 212
HelpDesk@ColoradoCollege.edu
8:00 AM to Midnight, Monday - Thursday
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday
3:00 PM to Midnight, Sunday
http://HelpDesk.ColoradoCollege.edu
