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Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Windows 11 upgrade to release 23H2

What is happening?

MFCF will be deploying Windows 11 release 23H2 to all systems that meet the system requirements.

MFCF has been testing this release of Windows 11 and we find it very stable for productivity applications (Microsoft 365 apps, Acrobat Pro, internet browsers, etc.)

We have also done basic tests with many mathematical applications (Maple, Matlab, MikTex, Python, R, RStudio).

When is this happening?

The week of February 26, 2024

Who is impacted?

Users whose Windows machines are managed with Microsoft Endpoint Manager Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM).

MFCF will be contacting people whose machines need remediation before the upgrade can proceed.

What is the impact?

Windows 11 will be upgraded to release 23H2.  Applications will not be removed or reinstalled.  There is one system reboot to apply the upgrade.

What do you need to do?

MFCF recommends people in a department arrange amongst themselves to apply the upgrade at different times so not everyone is adjusting to the changes at the same time.

Applying the upgrade

The upgrade will be available for you to run via the Software Centre (Start > Microsoft Configuration Manager > Software Center > Updates). The upgrade installs and triggers a reboot. The upgrade is expected to take a few minutes to complete after reboot.

We recommend applying the upgrade when you are on campus.  Laptop users on campus need to use the wired connection for the duration of the upgrade.  We highly recommend the laptop be connected to AC power to avoid a drained battery during the upgrade.

The update can be applied by people working on University owned machines at home.  The VPN must be connected to run the upgrade.  The download time depends on the internet connection speed.

Questions or concerns?

Contact Dale Kenter or submit an RT

What is happening?

The file servers (files.math.uwaterloo.ca , files.student.math.uwaterloo.ca other file shares hosted on FS300) will undergo an upgrade to the operating system on December 26, 2023 starting at 8:00am

When is this happening?

December 26, 2023 from 8:00am until 11:00am

Who is impacted?

All faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and staff.

What is the impact?

What is happening? 

The print server (mapprint01.math.private.uwaterloo.ca) will be upgraded to Windows Server 2022 on December 27, 2023 starting at 9:00am

When is this happening? 

December 27, 2023 from 9:00am until 5:00pm

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

MC 3015 server room shutdown Dec. 6-7

Update as of 4:45 p.m. Thursday Dec. 7

We got confirmation of cooling service shortly before 3 p.m. and had all the computers restarted by 4:45 p.m.

Update as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday Dec. 7

We see that the cooling system came back on just before 2 p.m. but we still await official confirmation from Plant Ops that the work is completed.

Update as of noon, Thursday Dec. 7

What is happening? 

MFCF will be deploying updated mathematical applications (Anaconda, Maple, Matlab, RTools) for the Spring 2023 term. This only applies to managed machines that have these mathematical applications installed today.  If this does not apply to your machine, you can ignore the rest of this notice.

The applications will match what is on the Remote Desktop Services hosts (windows.math.uwaterloo.ca).

When is this happening? 

  • May 01 to May 07, 2023

Who is impacted?

** Updated Sep. 13**.  The mandatory installation date is moved to Sep 28 because of MFCF staffing limitations.

What is happening? 

MFCF will be deploying Windows release 22H2 to all systems that meet the system requirements.

MFCF has been testing this release of Windows 10 and 11 and we find it very stable for productivity applications (Microsoft 365 apps, Acrobat Reader, internet browsers, etc.)

We have also done basic tests with many mathematical applications (Maple, Matlab, MikTex, R, RStudio).

When is this happening?