Networking Outages & Alerts

Details
In order to address a minor hardware issue, the server hosting NetReg (Network Registration) must be rebooted. The entire outage is expected to last no more than 30 minutes. During this time NetReg will be unavailable for login, therefore new devices cannot be registered and current device registrations cannot be updated between 11:00 – 11:30 AM. No other services will be affected.

Please contact the Helpdesk (call Ext. 5888 or e-mail helpdesk@wpi.edu) with any questions or concerns regarding this process.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to improve the systems we support.

Details
During routine maintenance, an issue was discovered with the fiber optic cables that provide network connectivity to Goddard Labs. In order to address this issue, contractors will have to temporarily disconnect the fiber while repairs are made. Although we expect the actual repairs to take no more than one hour, we have reserved a two hour window to account for any unexpected problems that come up during the repair process.

Please contact the Helpdesk (call Ext. 5888 or e-mail helpdesk@wpi.edu) with any questions or concerns regarding this maintenance.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to improve the systems we support.

Details
Details:

On Wednesday, November 21, 2012 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Network Operations will be cutting over from 1 gigabit per second uplinks to new 10 gigabit per second uplinks between each building switch and the core network routers.

Intermittent interruption of network services of 3 to 5 minutes in each building should be expected during this time period.

All network services and any Information Technology services dependent upon network services may be momentarily impacted within the affected buildings including but not limited to:

• Wired LAN and Wireless access
  
• Internet access
  
• myWPI
  
• E-mail
  
• WPI Web site
  
• Network File Storage access
  
• Printing to network printers
  
• IP Telephones
  

Details
As a result of the virus detected and blocked from on campus yesterday (see IT News posted on 9/5/12), IT staff are visiting the offices of the infected machines. Since Windows machines are rendered inoperative by the virus, we recommend you do not reboot the computer. If you suspect a machine in your office has been impacted by this virus, please contact the Helpdesk by phone at extension 5888.

IT staff will remove the virus and restore functionality. The process takes time so the ATC has offered to provide a loaner laptop as a temporary workaround. Please contact the Helpdesk by phone at extension 5888 to confirm if and when your office is scheduled and what the time estimate for repair will be. Then contact the ATC by phone at extension 5220 to reserve a laptop if necessary.

NOTE: Again, we would like to remind the community about virus information at
http://www.wpi.edu/academics/CCC/Help/Software/Virus/

Please contact the Helpdesk (call Ext. 5888 or e-mail helpdesk@wpi.edu) with any questions or concerns regarding this process.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to protect the systems we support.

Details
A message sent to potpourri@wpi.edu at 2:57 p.m. on September 5, 2012 contained a URL that when clicked, downloaded a virus to the Windows machine reading the message. The offending URL has been blocked from on-campus so that further spread on-campus is contained.

If you read potpourri mail during the 3:00 to 4:00 pm hour, clicked any links, and your computer displayed error messages or other unexplained behavior, please contact the Helpdesk to confirm if your machine was infected.

If you read potpourri mail from off-campus, please do not click any URL links in the messages sent from 3:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.

NOTE: We would like to remind the community about virus information at http://www.wpi.edu/academics/CCC/Help/Software/Virus/

Details
On Thursday, July 26, 2012 between 7:00 PM and 1:00 AM, Information Security & Networking will be working with Juniper Networks to perform network maintenance, upgrading the router software to fix known functional and security issues.

During the maintenance, there will be interruptions in network services while redundant components switch over to backups. Six hours have been reserved to ensure ample time to complete the upgrade and address configuration issues.

Disruption of network services should be expected during this scheduled maintenance window. Community members should take note of this possibility and plan their work accordingly. All network services and any IT services dependent upon network services may be impacted including but not limited to:
• Internet access
• VPN (Virtual Private Network) access
• myWPI
• Email access (no email will be lost)
• WPI Web site
• Network File Storage access
• IP Telephone connections
• Telephone Automated Attendant on 508-831-5000, x5000 and 0 (operator).
• Printing to network printers

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work to improve these critical pieces of equipment.

Details
On Wednesday, March 7, 2012 between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, Information Security & Networking will be migrating WPI’s DHCP, DNS, and NTP services to new hardware in order to retire hardware that is out of support and to enable future feature development. There should be minimal impact to services during this time as the services are redundant and servers will be migrated one at a time.

There are a few services that must be taken offline in order to complete the migration:

• DHCP dynamic address pools for Portable and Wireless networks. During the DHCP migration, any Portable Mobile Wired or Wireless systems that attempt to establish a network connection may experience a short period of time where they cannot connect. Computers with established connections will not be affected. Hardwired, non-portable systems will not be affected.
  
• Dynamic DNS updates for dynamic addresses. During the DNS migration, dynamic updates for Wireless systems may not take effect.
  
• NTP service on ntp1.wpi.edu and ntp2.wpi.edu will move to new IP addresses but will maintain the same DNS names ntp1.wpi.edu and ntp2.wpi.edu.
  
• Network Registration (NetReg) at http://netreg.wpi.edu/ will be offline during the migration.

Details
On Tuesday, March 6, 2012 between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM, Information Security & Networking will be upgrading building switch software to address known memory leaks that have caused previous service disruptions.

Disruption of network services of 15 minutes in each building should be expected during this scheduled maintenance window. Buildings that contain academic & administrative offices will be done after business hours.

All network services and any IT services dependent upon network services may be impacted within the affected buildings including but not limited to:

• Internet access
  
• VPN (Virtual Private Network) access
  
• myWPI
  
• Email
  
• WPI Web site
  
• Network File Storage access
  
• Printing to network printers
  
• IP Telephones

Details
On Monday, March 5, 2012 between 7:00 PM and 1:00 AM, Information Security & Networking will be working with Juniper Networks to perform network maintenance upgrading the router software to fix known stability and security issues.

During the maintenance, there will be interruptions in network services while redundant components switch over to backups. Six hours have been reserved to ensure ample time to complete the upgrade and address configuration issues.

Disruption of network services should be expected during this scheduled maintenance window. Community members should take note of this possibility and plan their work accordingly.

All network services and any IT services dependent upon network services may be impacted including but not limited to:

• Internet access
  
• VPN (Virtual Private Network) access
  
• myWPI
  
• Email
  
• WPI Web site
  
• Network File Storage access
  
• IP Telephone connections
  
• Telephone Automated Attendant on 508-831-5000, x5000 and 0 (operator).
  
• Printing to network printers

Details
An immediate security update to the VPN service, Juniper Network’s Network Connect, is required. The update will begin at 9:00 am (EST) on Monday, March 28, 2011 and is expected to be completed in 30 minutes.

The first time you invoke the VPN at vpn.wpi.edu after this update, you will be prompted to install an updated version of the client, Network Connect. Click “Yes” to allow the update. After observing the installation, you may proceed with login. Login credentials and directions for using the VPN will remain the same.

Contact the Helpdesk by calling x5888 or e-mail helpdesk@wpi.edu, or contact Network Operations and Information Security by calling x6666 or email netops@wpi.edu.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation while we work to improve the services we provide.

Details
On Monday March 7th beginning at 10 A.M. the SourceForge collaboration website will be upgraded to TeamForge version 5.4.

All existing SourceForge projects will be imported as part of the upgrade. No additional action will be required by our users.

TeamForge offers all the functionality of SourceForge along with an updated web interface and new Release, Planning and Reporting features.

Reminder: The WPI VPN is now required for off-campus connections to SourceForge.

Thank you for your understanding while we work to upgrade the services we offer WPI. Please direct any questions or concerns to the Helpdesk.

Details
Network Operations is actively working to resolve this issue. Steps have been taken to maximize current capacity utilization.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause,

Helpdesk
Visit the Helpdesk in Gordon Library
http://www.wpi.edu/+helpdesk | helpdesk@wpi.edu
508.831.5888 | Ext. 5888

Details
On Thursday, February 3, 2011 between 1:43 PM and 1:55 PM, one of WPI's core routers experienced a hardware failure which caused a switchover in the redundant components of the router. The result was a short interruption of network services.

On Monday, February 7, 2011 between 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM, Information Security & Networking will perform network maintenance to troubleshoot the failing hardware. This could result in a short interruption in network services while redundant components switch over to backups.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work to resolve this hardware issue.

Details
Required Network Maintenance
Required software patches will be installed on WPI campus building switches to address known stability issues.

Affected Buildings
All WPI buildings specified in this list will be impacted by this maintenance. Those working in these buildings after business hours should take notice that interruption of network services is expected between 6:00-7:00 pm.

Affected Buildings
Atwater Kent, Fuller Labs, Higgins Labs, Stratton Hall,Salisbury Labs, Washburn Labs, Goddard Hall, Olin Hall, Campus Center, Gordon Library, Gateway Park (60 Prescott St.) & Garage (29 Garden St.), and 85 Prescott St.

Affected IT Services
All network access (wired and wireless) will be unavailable for 5 minutes in the specified buildings. All Information Technology Services that depend upon network services will be unavailable including but not limited to:

• Internet access (to and from campus)
• Web browsing (on and off-campus)
• IP Telephones in Gateway Park & Garage, 85 Prescott St
• Email Services such as web mail, Outlook/Exchange and Outlook Web Access
• Banner Self Service, Banner Production and associated services
• Login to CCC Cluster and UNIX systems
• Windows domain access (including login from campus public and lab computers)
• Access to network software or license servers
• Access to network file shares
• Printing to network printers
• Access to on-campus IT services such as: myWPI, SharePoint, OCS (Office Communications Server), etc.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work to complete these important upgrades.

Helpdesk
Visit the Helpdesk in Gordon Library
http://www.wpi.edu/+helpdesk | helpdesk@wpi.edu
508.831.5888 | Ext. 5888

Details
Outage time and duration for different services will vary; do not rely on network services during this maintenance window. The maintenance will include:
• Cut over to new Internet router
• Upgrade software on WPI campus backbone routers
• Enable redundant WPI campus backbone router

All network access (wired and wireless) will be unavailable to the WPI community. All Information Technology Services that depend upon network services will be unavailable including but not limited to:
• Internet access (to and from campus)
• Web browsing (on and off-campus)
• IP Telephones in Gateway Park & Garage, 85 Prescott St, Lee St Facilities Offices, Counseling Center, Press Box
• Email delivery will be delayed, but no email will be lost
• Email Services such as web mail, Outlook/Exchange and Outlook Web Access
• Banner Self Service, Banner Production and associated services
• Login to CCC Cluster and UNIX systems
• Windows domain access (including login from campus public and lab computers)
• Access to network software or license servers
• Access to network file shares
• Printing to network printers
• Access to on-campus IT services such as: myWPI, SharePoint, OCS (Office Communications Server), etc.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work to complete these important upgrades.

Details
NetOps will be replacing the network chassis in Fuller Labs on Thursday, October 18, 2007 starting at 7:15 pm through 9:00 pm. The network chassis in Fuller labs are eight years old and are beginning to fail. The new chassis will continue to provide a stable network environment for our faculty, researchers and students in the building. Wired and wireless networked devices in all offices and labs will lose connectivity at this time. The WPI Server Room located in Fuller Labs will not be affected.

Details
Network Operations and Security will be upgrading the current VPN service. The new VPN will support clientless secure access on the following platforms: Windows 2000 with Service patch 4, Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Fedora Core Linux, Gentoo Linux, Ubuntu Linux and Mac OS 10.4
Advance instructions on how to access and setup the new VPN can be found at: http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Netops/VPN/ by following the ‘advance instructions’ link.

Details
Network Operations and Security will be upgrading network switching and routing software throughout the network as well as performing maintenance on WPI’s Internet connection. During this time access to the internet from on campus and access to the WPI network from off campus will be unavailable. Network access in campus buildings will also be disrupted while we upgrade the network switching and routing software in each building - this disruption should last approximately 3 minutes for each building.

Details
Network Access will be unavailable August 13 starting at 4:00 AM through 4:00 PM. During this time NetOps will be replacing the WPI backbone chassis that routes all network traffic throughout campus. The following Network services will be unavailable during this time:



Internet Access / WWW (from on and off campus)

Wireless Network

Banner

UNIX login

Windows ADMIN and STUDENT domain login

ATAR Login

VPN Login

Email Access (no email will be lost during this time)

MyWPI access

Library network services

Toaster / home directory access

Proxy Services

Network Printing

WPI Waltham campus will not have Internet access

IP based telephony (85 Prescott Street and 157 West Street)





If you have any questions please contact NetOps at x6666 or netops@wpi.edu or the WPI helpdesk at x5888 or helpdesk@wpi.edu.

Details
Since its original deployment, the WEP encryption algorithm employed in WiFi networks has been found to have serious security flaws which attackers can use to gain unauthorized access. To mitigate these problems without requiring wholesale equipment replacement, the WPA standard has been released.
It is compatible with standard WEP only hardware, but addresses all known security vulnerabilities.

With the release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, support for WPA is now widespread enough for WPI to make the transition. The new WPA protected network is currently available in parallel with the WEP network under a new SSID of "WPI-Wireless". The WEP network will be left in place until August 5, 2005 in order to give users adequate time to make the transition.

The wireless information page has been updated to reflect this change. It includes the necessary certificate files and directions for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and OS X version 10.4. Linux directions will be released soon, depending on the results of testing and software support.

NetOps has also been working with academic and department system administrators to test and implement this change.

The wireless directions can be found at

http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Netops/Wireless/

Please contact Network Operations at netops@wpi.edu or x6666 or the CCC Helpdesk at helpdesk@wpi.edu or x5888 for any questions of further assistance.

Details
All Network Access in in Morgan Hall, Daniels Hall, Sanford Riley Hall and Alden Hall will be unavailable due to electrical services being moved. The outage will start on March 9, 2005 at 5:00 am and last approximately 14 hours.

Details
All Network Access in in Morgan Hall, Daniels Hall, Riley Hall and Alden Hall will be unavailable due to electrical services being moved. The outage will start on March 4, 2005 at 5:00 am and last approximately 4 hours.

Details
Network Operations will be performing Emergency Router Software Maintenance Wednesday, January 26, 2005 starting at 5:30 PM and ending at approximately 6:00 PM. The WPI community will be without Internet access during this time.

Details
There will be a number of systems and services outages during the winter recess.

Monday, December 27, 2004:
* All Networking Services will be unavailable for short (about 15 minute) intervals throughout the 24-hour period.
* All Windows services (ADMIN & STUDENT domain login & Exchange access) will be unavailable as work is being done on the servers
* myWPI will be unavailable for use and systems maintenance will be performed.

Monday, 01/03/2005:
* Upgrade to the new http://users.wpi.edu web server (10:00 am - Noon), resulting in intermittent access.

Saturday, 01/08/2005:
* WPI's Primary E-mail server will be upgraded.
- In order to improve mail server functionality, the current server is being upgraded with larger, faster disks and a new operating system.
- The upgrade will begin at midnight and should take about 8 hours to complete.
- No email will be delivered during this time. This includes mail from WPI addresses to other WPI addresses and mail coming onto and leaving campus.
- Mail will be queued up and delivered over the course of the next day once the server is back up.
- Internal Exchange email will continue to be delivered.
- Details:
* The current mail server disks (five 36GB 10,000RPM U320 SCSI disks) are being replaced with 72GB 15,000RPM U320 SCSI disks.
* The operating system is being upgraded from Red Hat Linux 7.3 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 3.0.

Thank you for you understanding and cooperation as we work on our systems

Details
Due to increasing concerns about X11 security on campus, Network
Operations will be blocking port 177 and 6000 from off-campus until
further notice. Impact should be minimal since widespread use of SSH now allows for X11 traffic to move security around the network.

Those that use services like Xwin32 from their home computers are advised to use the WPI VPN to connect to campus or use PuTTy to tunnel the traffic via SSH to maintain functionality.

The ports being blocked are used for XDMCP and X11 only which are port 177/tcp and port 6000/tcp respectively.

Please address any questions to the WPI Network Operations or Helpdesk:

Ext. 6666 / (508)831-6666 / netops@wpi.edu
Ext. 5888 / (508)831-5888 / helpdesk@wpi.edu

Details
This is the annual wireless encryption key change to aid in securing the wireless network at WPI. All users of the wireless network will need to modify their encryption key or they will no longer have access to the WPI wireless Network. The new encryption key can be found at http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Netops/Wireless/ and clicking the ‘Encryption Keys’ link.

Details
Due to a planned Plant Services electrical shutdown of Stratton Hall,
Boynton Hall, Project Center, Washburn Reactor Facility & the Power House on Saturday, August 14th from 6:30 am to 3:00 pm, the entire WPI network will be unavailable.

Internal and external network connectivity in all WPI facilities on
the Main, Southboro, Mass Academy, and Bioengineering
Institute (BEI) campuses will be unavailable.

The following network services will be unavailable:

E-mail (No email will be lost, just unavailable during this time frame)
Usenet News
World Wide Web (www.wpi.edu / users.wpi.edu)
Administrative (Admin) PC LAN
Academic PC LAN
MyWPI
Library Services
Proxy Services
Banner / Oracle database
Mcteer
CCC UNIX services and cluster (ccc.wpi.edu)
Toaster/Home directories
Alumni Services
CCC Printing

Details
Due to a planned Plant Services electrical shutdown of
Stratton Hall, Boynton Hall, Project Center, & the Power House on Saturday, April 17th from 6 AM to 8 AM, the WPI network will be unavailable.

Internal and external network connectivity in all WPI facilities on the Main, Waltham, Southboro, Mass Academy, and Bioengineering Institute (BEI) campuses will be unavailable.

The following network services will be unavailable:

E-mail (No email will be lost, just unavailable during this time frame)
Usenet News
World Wide Web (www.wpi.edu / users.wpi.edu)
Administrative (Admin) PC LAN
Academic PC LAN
MyWPI
Library Services
Proxy Services
Banner / Oracle database
Mcteer
CCC UNIX services and cluster (ccc.wpi.edu)
Toaster/Home directories
Alumni Services
CCC Printing
IBM Super Computer and Atar (ME Cluster)

Details
The following services will be unavailable on March 6, 2004 from 6:00 am until 4:00 pm due to the installation of a backup generator to support the Fuller Labs Computer Room:

E-mail(No email will be lost, just unavailable during this time frame)
News
www.wpi.edu
Administrative (Admin) PC LAN
Academic PC LAN
MyWPI
Library Services
Banner
CCC UNIX services (ccc.wpi.edu)
Mcteer
Toaster/Home directories
Alumni Services
CCC Printing
Proxy Services
Internal and external access to Fuller Labs
WPI Waltham and Southboro campus' will not have Internet access

Details
Due to the previously announced planned electrical power outage by Plant Services, no network or Internet connectivity will be available to the following facilities at the following times:

Saturday, October 18, 2003 5AM to 10AM:

Harrington Auditorium
Alumni Gym
Higgins Labs
Alden Hall, affecting:
- West Street Counseling Center
- Phi Sigma Sigma House
- 16 Elbridge
- 49 Institute
Sanford-Riley Hall
Daniels Hall (the CBORD system will remain online)
Morgan Hall, affecting:
- Alpha Tau Omega
- Hughes House (Provost)
- Jeppson House (President)
Campus Center

Saturday, October 18, 2003 5AM to 6PM:

Goddard Hall
Olin Hall

Details
A few new viruses, nicknamed 'Blaster', 'MSBlast', 'Nachi' and 'Welchia', have been released and are spreading quickly. In an effort to prevent the spread of this worm until users have the opportunity to patch their systems, TCP and UDP ports 135 and 69 have been temporarily blocked on globally on the WPI network. These ports have already been blocked on the network connections from WPI to the Internet and Internet 2 for several years.

As a result of this block, WPI users will not be able to use certain Microsoft applications which rely on MS-RPC/DCOM networking protocols, such as Microsoft Outlook/Exchange. Users are encouraged to use Outlook Web at this time http://webmail.wpi.edu/.

Users both inside the network and remote VPN users are advised to install all critical updates from the Microsoft Update website to prevent further infection. http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

This vulnerability affects all version of Windows(98, NT, 2000, XP, 2003). Linux and Apple's Mac are not affected.

Details
This is the annual encryption key change to aid in securing the wireless networking at WPI. All users of the wireless network will have to modify their encryption key or they will no longer have access to the wireless network. The new encryption key can be found at: https://www.wpi.edu/Admin/Netops/Keys/

Details
NetOps will be moving/replacing the copper and fiber lines to Goddard Hall. Goddard Hall will be without networking and telephone access from 5:00 PM on Friday, August 8 through 5:00 PM on Saturday, August 9.

Details
NetOps will be moving/replacing the copper and fiber lines to Boynton Hall to accomidate the new steam pipe infrastructure. Boynton Hall will be without networking and telephone access from 6:00 AM through 8:00 PM.

Details
On Wednesday, May 21, 2003, from approximately 6:30 AM to 8:30 AM, the following services will be unavailable during power upgrades in the Fuller Labs Computer Room:

E-mail
UseNet News
www.wpi.edu and users.wpi.edu
Administrative PC LAN
Academic PC LAN
MyWPI
Library Services
Banner & Oracle
CCC UNIX services
Toaster/Home directories
Alumni Services
CCC Printing
External Internet access from Fuller Labs
WPI VPN

Details
The connections to the WPI network from TC, ATO, Hughes House (Provost), and Jeppson House (President) will be unavailable for approximately two hours while a faulty piece of equipment is replaced. The work is expected to be completed between the hours of 7am and 9am and should take approximately two hours.

Details
An Internet-wide attack on MS SQL Servers started Saturday morning at midnight and has caused unstable network connectivity on- and off-campus until Saturday at 9am, at which time network stability was restored. Netops is actively scanning for infected computers on-campus, and will shut off network connections to infected computers until they can be cleaned.

Slashdot reports:

http://slashdot.org/articles/03/01/25/1245206.shtml?tid=109

Posted by pudge on Saturday January 25, @07:43AM
from the no-man-will-know-the-day-or-the-hour dept.

defile writes "Since about midnight EST almost every host on the internet has been receiving a 376 byte UDP payload on port ms-sql-m (1434) from a random infected server. Reports of some hosts receiving 10 per minute or more. internetpulse.net is reporting UUNet and Internap are being hit very hard. This is the cause of major connectivity problems being experienced worldwide. It is believed this worm leverages a vulnerability published in June 2002. Several core routers have taken to blocking port 1434 outright. If you run Microsoft SQL Server, make sure the public internet can't access it. If you manage a gateway, consider dropping UDP packets sent to port 1434." bani adds "This has effectively disabled 5 of the 13 root nameservers."

Details
The network core in Fuller Labs is being updated to newer equipment. During this time, a number of services will be unavailible, including all home directories, any files shared off of an affected system, and email. The systems affected are:

toaster
delphi.admin
petra.admin
salsa.admin
admnt1.admin
galaxy.academic
argus.academic
wpi1 through wpi10
ccc1 through ccc10
atar.wpi.edu

Details
WPI Network Operations will be performing an upgrade of the main network backbone router in order to support IP multicast services in preparation for WPI's new Internet2 Access Grid Node. The upgrade will commence on Thursday, October 17, at 10:00 PM, and should not last more than one hour.

Details
A physical relocation of the Networking/Telecom closet is being performed. This requires removing the old cabling and replacing it in the new closet. Any system that runs over the telephone lines (modems, phone, fax, point-of-sale) will be unavailable.
Network access will also be disabled. This effects both dorm rooms and academic facilities in Daniels Hall. Students are urged to utilize public labs to complete any required work.

Details
For the new encryption keys, please access

http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/Netops/wireless.html

and follow the link to the encryption keys.

Due to security concerning the wireless network, the Access keys must be changed on a regular basis. This prevents unauthorized access due to "leaked" or old keys. Since wireless network traffic has a much higher chance of compromise than the main WPI campus network, it is recommended that the WPI community also use the WPI VPN services to further encrypt traffic.

Details
The following services will be off line from July 3 at 5:00 PM until July 5 at 12:00 PM:

E-mail
News
www.wpi.edu
Administrative PC LAN
Academic PC LAN
MyWPI
Library Services
Banner
CCC UNIX services
Toaster/Home directories
Alumni Services
CCC Printing
External Internet access from Fuller Labs (2 hours on July 4)

Details
Today, starting at 10:00am this morning, WPI has been
experiencing network difficulties. These difficulties
are being caused by a virus called "nimda". This virus
is spread by email attachments, open Windows shares,
and web requests.

Once infected, the computer begins to search for open
shares or vulnerable web servers on other computers.
The large quantities of traffic this produces is the
cause of the problems today.

McAfee has an updated .dat file which may remove the
virus, if you have McAfee installed. The file may be
found at:

http://vil.nai.com/vil/virusSummary.asp?virus_k=99209

The Computer Shop is working on a solution for infected
PCs which are not running McAfee.

NetOps will be taking measures to restore reliable
connectivity to academic and administrative systems.
Any computer infected with this virus will be taken
off the network until the virus can be cleaned. If
you have any further questions please e-mail me back
at netops@wpi.edu or you can contact the helpdesk
at helpdesk@wpi.edu.

Sean

--
------------------------------------------------------------
Sean Michael O'Connor soconnor@wpi.edu
Manager of Network Operations (508) 831-5115
College Computer Center (508) 831-5483 (fax)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
100 Institute Rd
Worcester MA 01609

Details
This message is to inform the WPI Community that the CCC computer room will be unavailable on Tuesday, August 14, 2001 from 5:00 PM until 10:00PM. During this time the electrical system within the room will be upgraded to meet current fire code requirements.

During this time the network in Fuller Labs as well as all administrative systems (Elwood, Admin, Career Development Center BrassRing system, Work Orders system), Unix Systems (ccc, grover, ernie, bert, wpi, emdall, cpu), the Computer Science Servers, the WPI web servers, the IBM Super Computer, MyWPI, the Endeavor System (Library database server) and the CCC modem bank will not be available. We will keep these systems on the computer rooms UPS (battery backup system) as long as possible before shutting them down.

During this time all incoming e-mail will be queued - no e-mail will be lost.