Facilities Outages & Alerts

Details
The Gordon Library's Voyager system will be off line for a short time starting at around 7 A.M. on Wednesday June 10, 2009 so that library staff can install a Voyager system patch. During the downtime the library catalog and related services such as requests and user account information will not be available. Other library resources, including electronic journals and books and databases, will remain available. We expect that the Voyager system will be back online by 8 A.M.

Details
Summer storms and increased power utilization can lead to power outages and brown outs. These can lead to power surges when full power is restored. Power surges can damage sensitive electrical equipment like computers, printers, copiers, scanners, etc.

To protect against potential surges, the CCC recommends that all unnecessary electrical equipment be powered off over the holiday weekend.

If the equipment is protected by a surge protection device then no further action is required. In the absence of a surge protection device, the equipment should be unplugged from the power source.

The added benefit to shutting down devices that will go unused over the long weekend is that WPI will see cost savings with regard to its electrical power utilization.

Thank you and enjoy your long weekend!

Details
The CCC plans to deploy Microsoft Windows Vista to the CCC Managed Labs, E-Classroom instructor workstations and new computers beginning this summer. In preparation, the system administrators have configured 6 computers in Fuller Labs 222 and 7 computers in Fuller Labs B16 with Windows Vista for the WPI community to use for testing purposes.

These computers are open for use to faculty, staff and students to experience the new operating system with WPI supported software before A-Term 2008. If you have a specific question regarding the Windows Vista lab deployment schedule, please contact the Helpdesk.

The CCC has been actively testing most academic software titles; if you would like to test a certain application on these new systems, please submit a request to the Helpdesk.

Beginning in May, new computers for faculty and staff computers will be deployed with Windows Vista. As with past releases of the Windows operating system, we do not plan to upgrade existing Windows XP systems to Windows Vista. If a system in the course of maintenance requires a reinstallation of all software, we will evaluate the possibility of upgrading the system to Windows Vista at that time.

To learn about using Windows Vista contact Deb Dexter at extension 5197 or send email to debra@wpi.edu. The ATC is currently piloting Microsoft’s e-learning training solution which includes courses on Windows Vista as well as Office 2007, SharePoint, and more. These online courses offer a visually engaging, guided learning experience with interactive features, including user-selected learning style, assessments, simulations, hands-on labs for practice, audio, and multimedia.

Details
Due to a recently discovered security flaw in the current Windows password scheme, Network Operations and Security will require all Faculty and Staff to change their current Windows password. We realize the inconvenience this will cause many of you during this time; however the Division of Information Technology and the Office of the Provost have agreed the security flaw is a significant threat and believe it is in the best interest of the University to protect our people and our data.

New Windows passwords will require the following:

Must be at least 8 characters long
Must not exceed 30 characters
Can not start with a number
Must contain at least one upper case letter (A-Z)
Must contain at least one lower case letter (a-z)
Must contain at least one number (0-9) – but not as the first character in the password
Can contain special characters/punctuation - however only the ‘_’ (underscore) character is recommended if you use the Banner Web Client

Faculty and Staff password will expire and be required to change according to the following schedule:

Faculty and Staff with the last names beginning in A-D will be required to change their Windows passwords on next login Wednesday, March 1, 2006 after 7:00 am
Faculty and Staff with the last names beginning in E-L will be required to change their Windows passwords on next login Thursday, March 2, 2006 after 7:00 am
Faculty and Staff with the last names beginning in M-R will be required to change their Windows passwords on next login Friday, March 3, 2006 after 7:00 am
Faculty and Staff with the last names beginning in S-Z will be required to change their Windows passwords on next login Monday, March 6, 2006 after 7:00 am
If faculty or staff are away during these time periods they will be required to change their password on their next login.

During this time Helpdesk will be available to help any faculty and staff with difficulties changing their passwords by calling x5888.

Groups Affected: All WPI Faculty and Staff.

Details
Wintry weather can lead to power outages that can result in power surges. Power surges can damage sensitive electrical equipment like computers, printers, copiers, scanners, etc.

The Helpdesk recommends that all unnecessary electrical equipment be powered off over the holiday break to protect against potential surges. The added benefit to shutting down devices that will go unused over the break is that WPI will see cost savings with regard to its electrical power utilization. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Happy Holidays to all!

Details
On Thursday May 12, 2005 at 5 P.M. the network in the Gordon Library will be taken off line while Network Operations rewires the library network closet. The work is expected to continue throughout the evening. The rewiring will allow the library to make available many more network drops throughout the building.

During this time there will be no access to the campus network or the Internet from computers in Gordon Library. This means that the library catalog, databases, electronic journals, and any other online resource, including the web, email, and printing, will not be available from computers within the library building. All library resources will remain accessible, however, from outside of the library.

Gordon Library will be open its regular hours until 10 P.M. on Thursday May 12th for anyone who wishes to read or study.

Thank you.

Don Richardson
Assistant Director, Library Systems
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
drichard@wpi.edu
508-831-6161
http://www.wpi.edu/+library

Details
The ADP Lab (Fuller Labs B16) will be closed for renovations from Friday, June 4, 2004 - Friday, June 25, 2004.

During this time period, the CCC Lab (Fuller Labs 222), will remain open. For a complete list of alternate public computer labs, please visit the following URL:

http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Labs/labs.html

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Details
The library will be closed all day on Saturday April 10, 2004 to accommodate utility work being done on campus. The library will re-open Sunday April 11, 2004 at 12 noon. Access to library resources via the Web will be unaffected. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Details
The library's Voyager System will be shut down briefly to accommodate the reorganization of the Computer Room in Fuller. While Voyager is down, links to the Library Catalog, Electronic Journals, Your Account, and Worcester Area Union List of Serials will not work, nor will library request forms that access Voyager: course reserve, hold, and suggested purchase. Access to the library's Databases and Indexes should be unaffected. The Serials Solutions link on the library home page will provide access to electronic journals.