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Internet Connection Reconfiguration

Internet

A new type of Internet connection will become available to EMU that will provide more flexibility in meeting future Internet connectivity needs. This new service will require some downtime for the Internet connection to EMU.

An outside consultant will assist with this operation. Coordination will be required with our current Internet provider, nTelos.

We anticipate that about an hour of interuption will be required, however, there may be lingering affects that will require up to several hours until the up-stream DNS servers learn of this new type of connection. However, no email message should be lost, only delayed.

Systems Affected include: Internet connection, email, off-campus access to web systems on-campus (i.e. Blackboard, Campus Web, WebMail). All on-campus access to these web systems will NOT be affected.

Internet Connection is Slow or Non-Existent

Internet

About 4:35pm today (Mon, 1/19) EMU began experiencing slow Internet response times. The situation continues to worsen.

Info Systems is aware of the problem and is attempting to identify the cause. There is no projected time for resolution of the problem.

At the present time you may or may not be able to access off-campus web pages.
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Investigation revealed that there was an unusually high number of TCP packets being both sent to and being received from the Internet connection (i.e. nearly 3X normal rate both in and out). This info was obtained from discussions with an ISP engineer. Total bandwidth, however, was within reasonable range. The only way to debug further was by use of advanced diagnostic equipment which was not easily available at the time.

About 9pm performance returned to near normal conditions without explanation.

Student Info Systems (SIS) PTF Installation (aka AS400)

Student Information

The Student Information System (iSeries, Campus Web) will be unavailable while routine PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes) are applied to the system. A two to three hour interuption is anticipated.

The systems affected will be Jenzabar application software (TEAMS2000) and CampusWeb (https://campusweb.emu.edu). CampusWeb provides student access to their financial information (billings and FinAid) as well as final class grades.

No other systems are affected by this outage.

MAJOR NETWORK FAILURE – South End of Campus

Network

NOTE #1: Last updated 01/20/04 11:30am The most recent updates are in BOLD text below.

NOTE #2: All available work-arounds have been completed. Marketing Services (Communications Dept) and Development Offices will remain without network connectivity until the permanent fix is installed sometime on Tuesday, 1/20.

A Cisco fiber switch located in the Library failed completely about noon today (1/17). This is one of two major fiber switches on campus, providing network service to all the buildings in the southeast corner of campus.

Info Systems is aware of the problem and is working to obtain a replacement device. It is not clear how long this will take but it is unlikely to be before Tuesday, 1/20.

Network connectivity to the following buildings is affected:

Library
Science Center
Marketing Services (Communications)
Development
Martin House
CTP
Weaver House

Only connectivity to these buildings is affected. All servers remain functional (i.e. Internet, email, calendar, SIS(As400), web, Blackboard, Novell). You just can’t get to them from these buildings.

A Critical Information Alert has been posted and will be updated, along with this log, if/when the status of this outage changes. We apologize for the major inconvenience this places on the campus and assure you that we are working as quickly as possible to resolve the problem.

01/20/04 11:10am Replacement part arrived. About an hour of work will be required to prepare it for installation. We expect to install it between noon and 1:00pm. About a 15-20 minute outage in the affected buildings will be required. A 10 minute “warning” will be sent as a Novell Popup Message that will appear on all Windows computers logged into Novell.

01/19/04 10:00am Successful work-around found for the Science Center, Martin House, CTP, Brunk House, Weaver House. All network connectivity to these buildings has been restored as of 10:00am.

01/19/04 08:00am Successful work-around found for the Library. All network connectivity to the Library has been restored as of 8:00am.

01/18/04 03:45pm Cicso confirms via email that the replacement 3508 switch has been prepared for shipment to EMU. It is likely that it will arrive Tue morning, 1/20.

01/17/04 04:00pm TAC opened with Cisco. They will send replacement hardware. Will be to FedEx by Monday and to us by Tuesday. Likely by 11am, but contract only requires by 4pm.

01/17/04 03:00pm Cause found and notice of failure published on Outage Log, Critical Info Alert and Special Notices on Connection page.

01/17/04 02:15pm Problem first investigated by Info Systems

Oracle Calendar Server Database Problems

Calendar Server

There were ongoing problems with the Oracle Calendar Server, particularly for Outlook Connector users. Some users could not see some of their folders (Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, Notes) while using Outlook Connector. There also appeared to be a problem with creating recurring calendar events using Outlook Connector.

It does not seem likely that these problems are related to the Oracle Calendar outage of 1/7/2004.

Oracle provided assistance to run advanced database repair tools and correct the problem. Calendar users are advised to review their data to check for inconsistencies.