What is happening? Grouper is scheduled for maintenance on the date below. Users will not be able to access Grouper during the maintenance window.
When is this happening?Tuesday, July 13 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357.
Resolved: A delay in sending and receiving email to and from external domains occurred today between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. All delayed emails should now be delivered to the intended recipient(s).
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.
What is happening? The uwaterloo.ca WCMS website domain will be undergoing maintenance. Please note this change will only affect WCMS websites and the campus map. New WCMS 3 websites will be directed to Pantheon while existing WCMS 2 sites will continue to direct to our on-premises data centres.
When is this happening? From Thursday, June 24 at 8:00 p.m. to Friday, June 25 at 12:00 a.m.
Why is this happening? In order to prepare for the upcoming WCMS 3 release with our new Drupal vendor, Pantheon, changes need to be applied to the way WCMS website requests are directed.
What is the impact? No user impact is expected, all WCMS websites should continue to be available during this maintenance period.
Questions or concerns? Please contact Joe Kwan.
Update (August 6, 1:07 p.m.):
What is happening?
When is this happening? Wednesday, August 11.
What do users need to do? When logging into RT:
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.
Update (June 16, 8:55 a.m.):
What is happening? Request Tracker (RT) will not be moving to Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) authentication today as scheduled due to last minute inconsistencies found during upgrade testing. This update will be postponed to a future date (TBD).
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.
What is happening?
When is this happening? Wednesday, June 16.
What do users need to do? When logging into RT:
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.
What is happening? Various deprecated security protocols and ciphers from the CAS service are being removed.
What is the impact? This change applies to the limited set of applications still using the CAS service. Please note that CAS is a deprecated service and this removal is essential to maintain the security of Waterloo credentials.
When is this happening? The CAS change will be implemented on Thursday, June 10 at 8:00 a.m.
Why is this happening? This maintenance is required to remove obsolete protocols from campus authentication systems.
Action you may need to take before the change: Review your CAS services to verify they can communicate using TLS1.2 and associated ciphers OR prepare to switch to ADFS.
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.
What is happening? We will be testing the University’s campus-wide emergency communication system.
When is this happening? Wednesday, June 2 at 11:00 a.m.
What is the impact? Emergency communication channels being tested include:
Update (June 7, 2:30 p.m): Please share with members of your team/area/group.
What is happening? The change to the data retention policies for Teams is being postponed. The new implementation date will be communicated once confirmed.
Summary of the changes:
Update (June 28, 9:45 a.m.):
What is happening? Basic Authentication, a less secure authentication method, will be disabled for Microsoft 365 mailboxes.
Why is this happening?
Basic Authentication is being removed by Microsoft.
The change from Basic Authentication to Modern Authentication will require Microsoft 365 mailboxes to use two-factor authentication (2FA), which will help improve the security of the mailboxes and prevent unauthorized access.
When is this happening? Thursday, July 15.
What is the impact? This process may take up to 24 hours to take effect. Mailboxes will continue to be available.
What do I need to do?
If you are using an up-to-date mail client that supports modern authentication, there should be no impact.
Most issues can be resolved by removing and re-adding your mail account to the mail client.
If you are using an older mail client or one that does not support modern authentication, you may:
Update or switch to a mail client that supports modern authentication.
Linux users should consider using Thunderbird or the web client, https://portal.office.com.
If Mac OS users are using an out-of-date OS, they may receive a “Can’t connect to the account “Exchange”.” error message indicating the username or password was incorrect. If this occurs, you may upgrade your Mac OS or ensure you are using a supported web browser and access your mailbox via the web client, https://portal.office.com.
If unable to upgrade your mail client, ensure you are using a supported web browser and access your mailbox via the web client, https://portal.office.com.
Questions or concerns? Please submit to the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.
Update (May 25, 8:50 a.m.): This work is being rescheduled for a later date; more details will be provided once available.
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.
What is happening? Basic Authentication will be disabled for Office 365 mailboxes.
Why is this happening? Basic Authentication is being deprecated by Microsoft. Disabling basic authentication will stop O365 mailboxes from bypassing multi-factor authentication, which will prevent unauthorized logins to mailboxes.
When is this happening? Basic Authentication for Office 365 mailboxes will be disabled on Tuesday, May 25. Please note the disabling process will take approximately one hour to run and the change can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
What is the impact? Some users may experience issues with accessing mailbox features after the change is made on the above date. Most issues can be resolved by removing and re-adding your mail account to the mail client. If you experience persisting issues, please submit a ticket to rt@uwaterloo.ca.
Questions or concerns? Please submit to the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.
What is happening? As we continue to move development of our new WCMS 3 website environment forward, we would like to invite you to participate in the next part of our testing strategy, the beta 2 testing phase.
What is beta testing? Beta testing provides a structured approach to testing the features and functionality of WCMS 3, helping to identify bugs/issues/unexpected behaviours that cannot be caught through automated testing processes.
How long is the beta 2 testing phase? The beta 2 testing phase will take place between May 19 and June 8, 2021.
Who can participate in beta 2 testing? This testing phase is open to members of the University Community who have completed the WCMS for Content Maintainers (WCMS 2) training course.
What can I expect during this testing phase?
How do I participate in beta 2 testing?
You may submit a request to https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/create/753.
Notice a bug or issue with your site? Please submit any bugs and/or issues using the reporting form, https://uwaterloo.ca/building-the-next-wcms/wcms-3-bug-report-form
Questions or concerns? Please submit to the team via wcms@uwaterloo.ca.
What is happening? Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), a Microsoft Azure-based system for virtualizing operating systems and applications, is now available for students to use for lab computers and software.
What is Windows Virtual Desktop used for? Windows Virtual Desktop is a Microsoft cloud-based solution that gives users remote access to desktops and applications. WVD can be used as an alternative to, or augmentation of, physical computer labs.
How do users access Windows Virtual Desktop? Students that have been given access to a department’s virtual lab can access Windows Virtual Desktop by logging in to www.wvd.uwaterloo.ca.
How do I set up a Windows Virtual Desktop environment? IT support staff can enable Windows Virtual Desktop for their department or faculty by submitting a request to rt@uwaterloo.ca. Visit the Windows Virtual Desktop service page for more information.
Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357.