Self Service upgraded to use single sign on.

It's now easier to log in to your Banner Self Service account. ITS has performed an upgrade that allows the Manhattan College community to log in with their Jaspernet ID and password. This is the same login that you have been using for many other services such as email, moodle and the portal.

For now the old method of using your Campus Wide ID and PIN can still be used, but will be phased out over time. If you do log in “the old way” there will be no difference in functionality.

During this transition period the same Self Service login page that you have always been using will give you two options to log in. The “the new way with your Jaspernet ID and password” or the “old way” with your campus wide ID and pin.

http://selfservice.manhattan.edu 

Combined Storage Gmail and Drive

Google has announced that they are combining Gmail and Drive Storage.  Initially Gmail had 25GB of storage and Drive had 5GB.  Now you will have a combined 30GB to be shared by both services.  This allows for greater flexibility so that you can put your storage where you need it.

Campus Telephone System Upgrade - Completion Scheduled for June 2013

Work has resumed to complete the campus telephone system upgrade.  While some work was done during Spring Break, plans to complete the upgrade had been deferred to the end of the semester to avoid interruptions.  Technicians will be on-site the week of 5/28 to prepare wiring and system components.  We expect end-user office telephone handset replacements to start the week of 6/3.  Subsequent announcements will be posted as a timeline is developed and each area is designated for telephone handset replacement.

In general, the deployment schedule will designate one building per day for telephone handset replacement.  During that designated time, users should expect interruptions in telephone service in the affected building.  Please review the post-upgrade steps posted at the telephone upgrade website http://www.manhattan.edu/phone  which includes checking your “old” voicemail and configuring your new voicemail box.

Please be on the lookout for new messages in the coming days that will detail the final upgrade plans.  The same information will be posted at the telephone system upgrade website -  http://www.manhattan.edu/phone

Questions or concerns should be sent via email to telephone@manhattan.edu

Date and Time Questions now in Google Forms!

You can now ask date and time questions in Google Forms.  See the Google + post for more details!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GoogleDrive/posts/dfpVxqn1ouW

Banner Database Hardware refresh July 13 – 14

Banner Database Hardware refresh July 13 – 14.

After ten months of planning and testing ITS is ready to perform our long awaited Banner system hardware refresh. Like many things we do behind the scenes in RLC the end user impact should be as small as possible, and aside from some downtime to move the database to its new home our goal is that the negative impact on the Manhattan College Community is minimal if not non-existent.

Why is ITS doing this?

Simply put, it is time to replace some old hardware that is fast approaching end of life. We tend to replace servers on a three to five year cycle. After three to five years the reliability of server hardware begins to significantly diminish while the cost to own and operate can rise with respect to service costs, power consumption, and the lost hours of productivity we need to maintain aging hardware.

Why is this good for the college?

Aside from our critical Banner system being on newer more reliable hardware several opportunities were available to us during this refresh that were not in our previous generation. We have moved most of our Banner systems and other servers to a virtualized platform. This has led to cost savings hardware, power and cooling in the server room as well as being more centrally monitored and managed. We are also transitioning our databases to Red Hat Linux which helps us consolidate our expertise for more efficient troubleshooting.

What do I need to do?

If you or your office use the Banner System we will be contacting you. ITS will be compiling testing procedures for all departments to ensure that after the upgrade is completed everything you do will “Just Work.”  We will need help compiling these lists and running through testing but we will not inconvenience you more than we absolutely have to.

If there are any issues at any time that ITS may not know about or that you feel are not being properly addressed please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing bannerhelpdesk@manhattan.edu.  This will create a helpdesk ticket as well as forward directly to several ITS administrators.  

For those very few things that don’t just work, we will be providing heavily augmented support for the two weeks after the upgrade. Some of you may be familiar with our “Banner Hotline” that we have used in the past after upgrades to route users directly to Level 3 support for Banner issues. We will again use this system so that if something is not working properly you have direct access to the ITS personnel who will be troubleshooting your issue.

Thank you in advance for all of the time and hard work that will go into this major initiative and as always we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Updated information will be available at the following page dedicated to this upgrade:
http://itsblog.manhattan.edu/p/enterprise-architecture-upgrade-summer.html

Sending Attachments Via Google Drive

You can now attach files to your emails via Google Drive.  The beauty of Google Drive is that it allows for easy collaboration.  There is no longer a need to worry about edits getting lost due to multiple editors working on a passed around file.  With Google Drive multiple editors can work on the same exact document at the same exact time and all edits are tracked.  You can even see your colleague typing as you do!

Another benefit of Google Drive attachments is that your attachment size limit goes from 25MB (traditional attachment) to 10GB (Google Drive attachment).

Google Drive also gives access control.  Only users that you grant access to can see the file.  So your email can be forwarded, but unless you grant access or your collaborator does, the file can not be accessed.

As part of the Google Drive attachment function, before sending the email, the attachments will be scanned to see if the people to which you are sending the file have access or not.  You will then get a warning if they do not have access and you will be asked if you wish to grant access or not.  For more information on how to send an attachment via Google Drive please click here.

http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2480713

Leo and Mahan Networks ONLINE

Physical Plant was able to quickly restore power to the ITS network equipment in Leo.  All networking and internet access to Leo and Mahan should be back to normal.  If you are experiencing any further issues please contact Client Services at x7875.