For the quickest system and user support of hardware and software, email the computing group at helpdesk@astro.as.utexas.edu . Requests are immediately forwarded to appropriate staff. See Helpdesk 101 for details, and to speed resolution of requests.  Clicking on "Core Services Status" below, will take you to a page with more detail on current system outages.

Scheduled Maintenance

• 2 December @ 7:00 AM - One of our departmental file servers, Cerberus, is going to require a reboot to update the systems software. This update is required so we can install a patch to the system. The patch may require a reboot as well. We will know as soon as the Oracle engineers evaluate a resolution to a potential security issues identified by ISO. Use this wiki page to check status of this maintenance.

Unscheduled Maintenance

• 19 November @ 2:59 PM - Maintenance completed. Services restored.  
• 19 November @ 2:50astro email services will be taken off-line to adjust performance tuning parameters. email services are expected to be back on-line within 20 minutes.

Emergency Maintenance

• 3 November @ 02:14 PM - DocuShare is back online in WRITE mode. Log files indicate that our backups are running without any problems.
• 2 November @ 9:37 - The DocuShare server, ds.as.utexas.edu, has been recovered via the indomitable and resolute efforts of Paul Morris and Patrick Goetz (CNS Systems), to whom we owe prodigious gratitude for their invaluable work. DocuShare is currently online in READ-ONLY mode while we configure, initiate and test a cron based backup to cerberus, our Oracle RAID.
• 23 October @ 7:00 AM - ds.as.utexas.ed was taken offline, it's internal disks removed and copies were made. Booting from a Redhat DVD, the two mirrored disks were reviewed and found to be inconsistent. Recover efforts continue. DocuShare will be offline for an indeterminate period of time.
• 22 October @ 01:42 PM - DocuShare server database crashed. Emergency maintenance in progress.
•  """""""""""@ 02:10 PM - ds.as.utexas.edu, DocuShare server rebooted.
• """"""""""" @03:18 PM - Server attempted to run a disk check and hung at 11.4%. Rebooted and it hung again at 11.4% during the disk check. Will allow the process to run overnight. And re-evaluate in the morning.

Scheduled Maintenance

• 16 November @ 6:00 PM - Maintenance completed.  All services restored.
• 16 November @ 5:00 PM - Services Server Upgrade.
• 13 October @ 7:15 AM - Maintenance completed. All services restored.
• 13 October @ 7:00 AM - gemini zones shutdown; gemini rebooted.
• 13 October @ 6:30 AM - Security updates need to be applied to gemini, astro, ftp, and bigbubba. The Updates are already installed but the systems require rebooting for the updates to be applied. The following services will be off-line until the reboots are completed and services restarted:
  • astro logins
  • astro email
  • webmail
  • anonymous ftp
  • user web pages (e.g., www.as.utexas.edu/~username)
  • bigbubba logins

Unscheduled Maintenance

• astro email services will be taken off-line at 2:50 PM today to adjust performance tuning parameters. email services are expected to be back on-line within 20 minutes.
• 17 September @ 9:49 PM Mail services restored. Maintenance completed. 
• 17 September @ 8:15 PM Mail services will be disabled tor re-index the director account.
• 22 August @ 12:54 PM Mail services restored. Maintenance completed. 
• 22 August @12:45 PM Stop, Refresh and Restart mail services to clear out zombie processes. 

Planned Maintenance

• 24 July @10:48am Resuming normal operations
• 24 july @7:00am -12:00pm all major service will be offline for some period during this maintenance window
• 15 July @ 12:45 PM - astro email  back online.
• 15 July @ 12:15 PM - astro email (& thus webmail) SSL Security Certificates Update Click on Core Services Status above for grisly details
• 13 July @ 5:00 PM - astro email (& thus webmail) SSL Security Certificates Update: :Click on Core Services Status above for grisly details.

  The SSL security certificates must be updated for mail services on astro to provide compatibility with utexas.edu mail services. SSL Certificate configuration continues to be a recondite undertaking with a plethora of convoluted methodologies and a poverty of guidance. In short, this may take awhile.

  5:00 PM astro email and webmail will be taken off-line for the SSL certificate updates.

  
  
• 1 May 2015 @ 11:30  - In preparation for upcoming rewiring of our switch closet in RLM, there will be work performed to clear off a switch to use in the refit.  What this means for the user base is that there is a possibility that the connections in your rooms may be momentarily lost as connections are rerouted.  This is a joint project with CNS and is needed to get the refit that the closet desperately needs.  If you experience any lasting problems with your computer or phone connections, please send an email to helpdesk.  None of our core services are planned to be down due to this maintenance.  This only effects connections to individual offices.
• 13 May @ 5:30 PM - astro and our other Solaris servers, ftp and gemini, will be rebooted at 5:30 PM today to apply maintenance and security patches. The updates have already been installed but require a reboot to be applied. The following services will be affected and be offline while the system are rebooting which hopefully will take less than 15 minutes.
  
  • astro email
  • webmail
  • Anonymous FTP