Greetings All,
I want to take a moment to update you on the status of the microwave and thank you all for your patience and perseverance and recognize the ITS staff – who have moved mountains today.
The alternate radio on the inter-island microwave is no longer working reliably. For most of the day STX services ran over the Internet. We have had some signs of life from the microwave in the last hour or so, at least at this minute it is running. It is not expected to continue
We are proceeding as if there will not be microwave service that we can rely upon until the microwave is replaced.
This is what is occurring:
• The networking staff will be working over the weekend to implement “quality of service “ for the vc rooms. This means they are reprogramming the networking equipment to give vc traffic priority.
• We have asked a Harris-Stratex technician to come on to campus TOMORROW to try and repair either of the radio paths. This is a long-shot but one we have to take. They may not be able to do anything…and if they can make repairs we cannot guarantee how long it will work.
• We have made arrangements with CHOICE to increase our Internet service on STT to 30 megs. We are trying to confirm that this in already in place. We are taking measures so that this new 15 megs will services the vc rooms and incoming traffic only. The increase will be for a period of only 3 months, which will allow the completion of the RFP process for 45 mbps that we have already initiated. This should provide much relief to the quality of the VC broadcasts.
• We are also increasing our bandwidth on STX to keep up with the demands.
• Harris-Stratex has agreed to schedule the install of the new microwave the first 2 weeks in April. They are putting timelines together for us as we speak.
What services will be effected:
• With the increase in Internet service, we should not have to eliminate service in the dorms. However we continue to keep this as an option to best serve our VC classrooms.
• All VC classes will be connected using the Internet. The content services are working, we will monitor picture quality with the new bandwidth. Audio will likely be reasonable enough to use. An option to connect via telephone is always there.
• St. Croix will not have four digit dial until further notice. User should be diligent about checking their voice mail via the 693-1599 extension.
• St. Croix users will need to access exchange via the web at exchange.uvi.edu.
• Blackboard and Banner are available on STX, however connections may be slow.
• We are asking for lots of help from the Provost and the Deans to work with faculty and students on doing the best we can with what we have to work with.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I will send out another update as we have information to share.
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Technology Update: Maintenance Saturday, January 23, 2010 12: 00pm to 2:00 pm
Office of the CIO
January 22, 2010
Technology Update for Friday:
The microwave continues to fluctuate with its connection this morning. As a result, a maintenance window has been scheduled for Saturday, January 23, 2010 tomorrow at 12:00 pm to 2:00pm. During this time the microwave will not be operational.
We are currently operating on the alternate radio; the original radio is not working at all. Since the alternate radio has not been utilized in some time, it is not stable, causing the microwave connection to go in and out. More troubleshooting efforts are need to either repair the original radio or stabilize the alternate radio.
Good news is when the microwave goes down all VC rooms, BB, Banner and Banweb will connect through the Internet automatically. Users will access the system the regular way. Please note, during an outage Desktop Outlook will not work on the St. Croix campus users should be encouraged to use exchange.uvi.edu to receive and send email when the microwave is not functioning.
When the microwave is down the quality of the VC product is not the best. The picture is a little blurry but faculty can still communicate with their classes via the VC connection. If the VC connection becomes poor, faculty may choose to conduct class by audio conferencing only. These numbers can be used to connect to the class via audio conferencing. Please be advised that technical support will be available to assist faculty at the beginning of their class. Users can call ITS helpdesk at ext 1466 if assistance is needed.
Please note that the internet connection on STT campus may become slow because of bandwidth usage plus users on the St. Croix campus may experience slow connection rates.
Below are the telephone numbers for each VC room:
Room number STT Phone STT Room number STX Phone STX
B-110 2186 EC-401 3106
T-101 2184 EC-713 3148
T-213 2185 EC-302a 3321
T-115 1187 EC-807 4173
B-101 5003 EC-304 4119
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND:
Please remember to utilize the following instructions when attempting to access technology resources.
• Users on St. Croix campus can access the St. Thomas campus by dialing 693 and the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• Users on the St. Thomas campus can access the St. Croix campus by dialing 692 the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• To access Audix from the St. Croix campus, dial 693-1599 and login to Audix as usual.
• Users on St. Croix campus are encouraged to connect to Exchange Outlook using the web access exchange.uvi.edu.
• Users on the St. Croix campus may experience slow service to the following applications:
Blackboard
BanWEb
Banner
We will do our best to keep our users informed as we continue to work on this inter-island connection issue. Information and Technology Service apologizes for any inconveniences this outage may have caused.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this issue.
“Service is Key”
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager,Technology Customer Service
LATER THAT SAME DAY: Inter-island Microwave
Greetings,
First I would like to thank those of you who offered up your office microwave ovens for spare parts and for the bubble gum and bailing-wire that have been delivered to my office.
The interisland microwave has been operating since approximately 11:45 this morning. We have made adjustments to the equipment at crown mountain in an effort to maintain the connection. We have also sent our last MUX card to St. Croix on the 4:30 Cape Air flight so we can keep the microwave from trying to re-connect on its primary path radios and maintain the connection on the alternate radios. These alternate radios have not been activated for use before yesterday so we are moving carefully and cautiously to make necessary changes. The card will be installed tomorrow morning before 8am in an effort to stabilize the connection. We are going to let the system run tonight in an effort to meet evening class needs.
This evening, we will monitor the system closely. If the radios do lose their connection, the vc and other data systems will automatically move back to the data tunnel over the Internet. So services will be available –except for four digit dial—and low quality on the videoconference pictures even if the microwave fails. Again technicians will be hovering to assist with reconnections or audio connections…whichever best meets the needs of the instructors.
Please let me know if you have any questions. We will continue to investigate options to maintain services and a reasonable learning environment for our students.
Keep your happy thoughts near.
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
January 22, 2010
Technology Update for Friday:
The microwave continues to fluctuate with its connection this morning. As a result, a maintenance window has been scheduled for Saturday, January 23, 2010 tomorrow at 12:00 pm to 2:00pm. During this time the microwave will not be operational.
We are currently operating on the alternate radio; the original radio is not working at all. Since the alternate radio has not been utilized in some time, it is not stable, causing the microwave connection to go in and out. More troubleshooting efforts are need to either repair the original radio or stabilize the alternate radio.
Good news is when the microwave goes down all VC rooms, BB, Banner and Banweb will connect through the Internet automatically. Users will access the system the regular way. Please note, during an outage Desktop Outlook will not work on the St. Croix campus users should be encouraged to use exchange.uvi.edu to receive and send email when the microwave is not functioning.
When the microwave is down the quality of the VC product is not the best. The picture is a little blurry but faculty can still communicate with their classes via the VC connection. If the VC connection becomes poor, faculty may choose to conduct class by audio conferencing only. These numbers can be used to connect to the class via audio conferencing. Please be advised that technical support will be available to assist faculty at the beginning of their class. Users can call ITS helpdesk at ext 1466 if assistance is needed.
Please note that the internet connection on STT campus may become slow because of bandwidth usage plus users on the St. Croix campus may experience slow connection rates.
Below are the telephone numbers for each VC room:
Room number STT Phone STT Room number STX Phone STX
B-110 2186 EC-401 3106
T-101 2184 EC-713 3148
T-213 2185 EC-302a 3321
T-115 1187 EC-807 4173
B-101 5003 EC-304 4119
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND:
Please remember to utilize the following instructions when attempting to access technology resources.
• Users on St. Croix campus can access the St. Thomas campus by dialing 693 and the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• Users on the St. Thomas campus can access the St. Croix campus by dialing 692 the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• To access Audix from the St. Croix campus, dial 693-1599 and login to Audix as usual.
• Users on St. Croix campus are encouraged to connect to Exchange Outlook using the web access exchange.uvi.edu.
• Users on the St. Croix campus may experience slow service to the following applications:
Blackboard
BanWEb
Banner
We will do our best to keep our users informed as we continue to work on this inter-island connection issue. Information and Technology Service apologizes for any inconveniences this outage may have caused.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this issue.
“Service is Key”
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager,Technology Customer Service
LATER THAT SAME DAY: Inter-island Microwave
Greetings,
First I would like to thank those of you who offered up your office microwave ovens for spare parts and for the bubble gum and bailing-wire that have been delivered to my office.
The interisland microwave has been operating since approximately 11:45 this morning. We have made adjustments to the equipment at crown mountain in an effort to maintain the connection. We have also sent our last MUX card to St. Croix on the 4:30 Cape Air flight so we can keep the microwave from trying to re-connect on its primary path radios and maintain the connection on the alternate radios. These alternate radios have not been activated for use before yesterday so we are moving carefully and cautiously to make necessary changes. The card will be installed tomorrow morning before 8am in an effort to stabilize the connection. We are going to let the system run tonight in an effort to meet evening class needs.
This evening, we will monitor the system closely. If the radios do lose their connection, the vc and other data systems will automatically move back to the data tunnel over the Internet. So services will be available –except for four digit dial—and low quality on the videoconference pictures even if the microwave fails. Again technicians will be hovering to assist with reconnections or audio connections…whichever best meets the needs of the instructors.
Please let me know if you have any questions. We will continue to investigate options to maintain services and a reasonable learning environment for our students.
Keep your happy thoughts near.
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
UPDATE: Inter-island Microwave
Greetings Colleagues,
As you know, the inter-island microwave stopped working again about 10pm last night. As of this morning at 9am all data traffic to St. Croix was rerouted over the Internet. St. Croix can access Blackboard, Banner, and Exchange via the Outlook Web Access. The videoconference rooms are also able to connect. While the audio is reasonable – the picture quality (as we predicted) is quite poor. We are trying to meet with faculty members to provide their class via telephone if they choose. Access to all services is slow because of bandwidth issues on St. Thomas. Four digit dial and Audix are not available.
We believe that the reason the microwave is not working properly is that the main radio on the dish at crown mountain on St. Thomas is rejecting the signal coming from the alternate radio on St. Croix. We have a crew on the way to crown mountain to see if that can be remedied. We will know more in about an hour, at this time the microwave is operating –
While we are hoping for a best case scenario, we continue to plan for service interruptions. We are:
1) Working with Harris-Stratex to move the installation of the microwave to as soon as possible. We will know more about possible timelines soon.
2) In contact with CHOICE communications to immediately increase our bandwidth. We hope to hear something by the end of the day.
3) We are communicating with Student Affairs to reallocate bandwidth from the dorms (only if absolutely necessary) to provide more bandwidth for educational purposes. An announcement will be made if this becomes necessary. The decision will be made before 4pm.
4) Looking at the possibilities to improve quality of service to the VC rooms.
I will provide an update before evening classes begin.
THINK GOOD THOUGHTS – AT THIS POINT IT CANT HURT
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
UPDATE: Inter-island Microwave
Greetings UVI,
The interisland link between St. Thomas and St. Croix is now fully operational.
At approximately 9:30 this morning, the radio on the interisland microwave stopped working. This radio is what makes the connection possible – it is in essence the “heart of the microwave”. The microwave is equipped with an alternate radio. At approximately 1:30 this afternoon working with Harris-Stratex, we replaced several microwave parts in an effort to activate this alternate radio. While this restored connectivity, the connection remained intermittent. As of 5:00, we have been able to “lock” the connection on the alternate radio and the connection is now stable and all services are operational. Classes are proceeding.
However, the main radio cannot be replaced, so we must move forward operating on the alternate radio. This leaves us without a back up. We have exhausted all our reserve parts and cannot predict how long the alternate radio will provide a functioning microwave. The UVI networking staff have completed configuation of a data tunnel between the islands so that when the microwave fails again, all video and data services will be accessible via the commodity Internet. This option will provide us with continuity – although video over the Internet will require a great deal of bandwidth and will decrease the video quality. We currently have an RFP out to increase our bandwidth on St. Thomas that will make this option more usable.
This microwave system, installed in 1994 has served us well. The microwave is obviously at the end of its life and we are in the process of replacing it. Site surveys were complete last week and purchase orders are in process. Scheduled replacement was June 1, 2010. The new system will provide 300 mbps service between the islands (we currently have 12) and greatly enhance videoconferencing and Internet services. We have already begun the process to move as quickly as possible on the replacement to shorten the timeline. However this will require the switch over to occur during the semester, instead of after finals as we originally planned.
ITS will keep you informed on the status of the microwave and the timelines for the replacement project. We will need to work together closely to effectively serve our students as we navigate the transition.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
As you know, the inter-island microwave stopped working again about 10pm last night. As of this morning at 9am all data traffic to St. Croix was rerouted over the Internet. St. Croix can access Blackboard, Banner, and Exchange via the Outlook Web Access. The videoconference rooms are also able to connect. While the audio is reasonable – the picture quality (as we predicted) is quite poor. We are trying to meet with faculty members to provide their class via telephone if they choose. Access to all services is slow because of bandwidth issues on St. Thomas. Four digit dial and Audix are not available.
We believe that the reason the microwave is not working properly is that the main radio on the dish at crown mountain on St. Thomas is rejecting the signal coming from the alternate radio on St. Croix. We have a crew on the way to crown mountain to see if that can be remedied. We will know more in about an hour, at this time the microwave is operating –
While we are hoping for a best case scenario, we continue to plan for service interruptions. We are:
1) Working with Harris-Stratex to move the installation of the microwave to as soon as possible. We will know more about possible timelines soon.
2) In contact with CHOICE communications to immediately increase our bandwidth. We hope to hear something by the end of the day.
3) We are communicating with Student Affairs to reallocate bandwidth from the dorms (only if absolutely necessary) to provide more bandwidth for educational purposes. An announcement will be made if this becomes necessary. The decision will be made before 4pm.
4) Looking at the possibilities to improve quality of service to the VC rooms.
I will provide an update before evening classes begin.
THINK GOOD THOUGHTS – AT THIS POINT IT CANT HURT
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
UPDATE: Inter-island Microwave
Greetings UVI,
The interisland link between St. Thomas and St. Croix is now fully operational.
At approximately 9:30 this morning, the radio on the interisland microwave stopped working. This radio is what makes the connection possible – it is in essence the “heart of the microwave”. The microwave is equipped with an alternate radio. At approximately 1:30 this afternoon working with Harris-Stratex, we replaced several microwave parts in an effort to activate this alternate radio. While this restored connectivity, the connection remained intermittent. As of 5:00, we have been able to “lock” the connection on the alternate radio and the connection is now stable and all services are operational. Classes are proceeding.
However, the main radio cannot be replaced, so we must move forward operating on the alternate radio. This leaves us without a back up. We have exhausted all our reserve parts and cannot predict how long the alternate radio will provide a functioning microwave. The UVI networking staff have completed configuation of a data tunnel between the islands so that when the microwave fails again, all video and data services will be accessible via the commodity Internet. This option will provide us with continuity – although video over the Internet will require a great deal of bandwidth and will decrease the video quality. We currently have an RFP out to increase our bandwidth on St. Thomas that will make this option more usable.
This microwave system, installed in 1994 has served us well. The microwave is obviously at the end of its life and we are in the process of replacing it. Site surveys were complete last week and purchase orders are in process. Scheduled replacement was June 1, 2010. The new system will provide 300 mbps service between the islands (we currently have 12) and greatly enhance videoconferencing and Internet services. We have already begun the process to move as quickly as possible on the replacement to shorten the timeline. However this will require the switch over to occur during the semester, instead of after finals as we originally planned.
ITS will keep you informed on the status of the microwave and the timelines for the replacement project. We will need to work together closely to effectively serve our students as we navigate the transition.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Tina M. Koopmans
Chief Information Officer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Technology Update: Microwave not accessible on St. Croix campus
Office of the CIO
January 20, 2010
Technology Update: Microwave Intermittent on St. Croix campus
Greeting University Community,
Please be aware that our very aged inter-island micro-wave system is experiencing technical problems this morning Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Users on the St. Croix campus will experience intermittent or no service while trying to access technology resources. Please remember to utilize the following instructions when attempting to access technology resources.
• Users on St. Croix campus can access the St. Thomas campus by dialing 693 and the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call. Users on the St. Thomas campus can access the St. Croix campus by dialing 692 the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• Internet service is working
• To access Audix from the St. Croix campus, dial 693-1599 and login to Audix as usual.
• Video conferencing services between islands is not currently accessible . Network Services is currently working to re-route video conference traffic via the internet.
• E-mail Services to the St. Croix campus is not accessible.
• Users on the St. Croix campus will have intermittent/or no connection to the following applications:
Blackboard
BanWEb
Banner
Please note these services can be accessed by using a working internet connection outside of the St. Croix campus network. Users will be able to connect to these services through the web interface.
Information and Technology Services are consulting with off island microwave technical support to determine the best course of action.
We will do our best to keep our users informed as we continue to work on this inter-island connection issue. Information and Technology Service apologies for any inconveniences this outage may have caused. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this issue.
“Service is Key”
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager,Technology Customer Service
January 20, 2010
Technology Update: Microwave Intermittent on St. Croix campus
Greeting University Community,
Please be aware that our very aged inter-island micro-wave system is experiencing technical problems this morning Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Users on the St. Croix campus will experience intermittent or no service while trying to access technology resources. Please remember to utilize the following instructions when attempting to access technology resources.
• Users on St. Croix campus can access the St. Thomas campus by dialing 693 and the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call. Users on the St. Thomas campus can access the St. Croix campus by dialing 692 the 4 digit extension of the person you are trying to call.
• Internet service is working
• To access Audix from the St. Croix campus, dial 693-1599 and login to Audix as usual.
• Video conferencing services between islands is not currently accessible . Network Services is currently working to re-route video conference traffic via the internet.
• E-mail Services to the St. Croix campus is not accessible.
• Users on the St. Croix campus will have intermittent/or no connection to the following applications:
Blackboard
BanWEb
Banner
Please note these services can be accessed by using a working internet connection outside of the St. Croix campus network. Users will be able to connect to these services through the web interface.
Information and Technology Services are consulting with off island microwave technical support to determine the best course of action.
We will do our best to keep our users informed as we continue to work on this inter-island connection issue. Information and Technology Service apologies for any inconveniences this outage may have caused. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this issue.
“Service is Key”
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager,Technology Customer Service
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
UPDATE: 11:22 AM Blackboard still NOT Accessible
Technology Update: Blackboard still not accessible as of 11:00 AM
January 16, 2010
Greeting University Community,
As of 11:00 AM this morning technicians are still activating the backup Blackboard server. Please keep in mind that once the server is restored the technician would need more time to perform system testing to ensure the data base is up-to-date and the software is functioning properly.
We will provide another update around 5:00 PM this afternoon. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we get through this system failure together.
If you have any questions please call the helpdesk at ext. 1466 or email helpdesk@uvi.edu.
ITS apologizes for any inconveniences this system outage has caused.
Cherie Wheatley
Manager of Technology Customer Service
January 16, 2010
Greeting University Community,
As of 11:00 AM this morning technicians are still activating the backup Blackboard server. Please keep in mind that once the server is restored the technician would need more time to perform system testing to ensure the data base is up-to-date and the software is functioning properly.
We will provide another update around 5:00 PM this afternoon. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we get through this system failure together.
If you have any questions please call the helpdesk at ext. 1466 or email helpdesk@uvi.edu.
ITS apologizes for any inconveniences this system outage has caused.
Cherie Wheatley
Manager of Technology Customer Service
UPDATE: Blackboard NOT Accessible
Office of the CIO
January 16, 2010
UPDATE: Blackboard NOT Accessible
Greetings UVI Community,
Please be informed that the technicians have encountered some unforeseen difficulties during system maintenance of the Blackboard Course Management System last evening. Which have resulted in Blackboard not being accessible this morning Saturday, January 16, 2010. Users cannot login to the system at this time.
Technicians are currently, activating the backup Blackboard server. This process is expected to be completed before 11:00 AM this morning. If service is not restored by this time we will provide another update through the ITS helpdesk.
If you have any questions please call the helpdesk at ext. 1466 or email helpdesk@uvi.edu.
ITS apologizes for any inconveniences this system outage has caused.
"Service is key"
Cherie Wheatley
Manager of Technology Customer Service
January 16, 2010
UPDATE: Blackboard NOT Accessible
Greetings UVI Community,
Please be informed that the technicians have encountered some unforeseen difficulties during system maintenance of the Blackboard Course Management System last evening. Which have resulted in Blackboard not being accessible this morning Saturday, January 16, 2010. Users cannot login to the system at this time.
Technicians are currently, activating the backup Blackboard server. This process is expected to be completed before 11:00 AM this morning. If service is not restored by this time we will provide another update through the ITS helpdesk.
If you have any questions please call the helpdesk at ext. 1466 or email helpdesk@uvi.edu.
ITS apologizes for any inconveniences this system outage has caused.
"Service is key"
Cherie Wheatley
Manager of Technology Customer Service
Holiday Protocol
Office of the CIO
January 15, 2010
Greeting ITS,
As a part of our holiday procedure, the email and voice mail greetings for the main ITS extensions will be updated with an out of office message reflecting that the University is closed for the Martin Luther King Day Holiday.
The helpdesk voice and email will be monitored during the holiday. If a technology emergency occurs we will contact the appropriate technical support.
Erik will monitor the helpdesk email at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Brian will monitor the helpdesk voice at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Have a Happy MLK Holiday!
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager, Technology Customer Service
January 15, 2010
Greeting ITS,
As a part of our holiday procedure, the email and voice mail greetings for the main ITS extensions will be updated with an out of office message reflecting that the University is closed for the Martin Luther King Day Holiday.
The helpdesk voice and email will be monitored during the holiday. If a technology emergency occurs we will contact the appropriate technical support.
Erik will monitor the helpdesk email at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Brian will monitor the helpdesk voice at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Have a Happy MLK Holiday!
Cherie Wheatley
Office of the CIO
Manager, Technology Customer Service
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