UPDATE: UC ANR Data Center cutover changed to Dec 9
December 1, 2023
Based on feedback from various stakeholders regarding our Data Center move cutover activities, ANR leaders have approved adjusting the start time to accommodate critical deadlines. Originally scheduled for Friday, Dec 8, at 5 p.m., the new start time is now set for Saturday, Dec 9, at 6 a.m.
The new cutover schedule is from Saturday, Dec 9, from 6 a.m. to Monday, Dec 11, concluding at 7 p.m.
Various web-based services, such as UC ANR websites, UC ANR Portal, VMS and the survey tool, will be unavailable during the cutover. However, hosted separately, Outlook email, Zoom, and project board will operate without interruption.
The IT team will provide regular updates on the progress via email throughout the cutover.
Your support and understanding are crucial during this project. If you have any concerns, we encourage you to reach us at ucanrit@ucanr.edu
Regards,
Data Center Move
December 17, 2023
ANR IT is excited to provide an update on our progress on relocating to a new Data Center and firing up new equipment. This project represents a significant step forward for ANR's IT infrastructure, bringing us closer to our objectives of modernizing our architecture, ensuring system stability, and ultimately enhancing the customer experience.
Minimizing impact on your work
As the project progresses in the next three weeks, our IT team is dedicated to minimizing disruptions to your work and ensuring clear communication. There will be downtime and potential interruptions to IT services during this transition. We carefully scheduled our activities to coincide with low-activity hours to keep any disruptions to a minimum.
Timeline
Nov. 20 to 23: The Dell Services team will physically rack and connect new servers in the new data center. There is no impact on ANR services.
Nov. 23 to 30: The Dell Services team and ANR IT will start the virtual server migration process, followed by the data migration. Further details will be shared after our analysis is completed.
Final cutover: Saturday, Dec 9, from 6 a.m. to Monday, Dec 11, concluding at 7 p.m.
The final cutover scheduled for Dec. 8-10 will result in the temporary unavailability of various web-based services, such as UC ANR websites, UC ANR Portal, VMS and the survey tool. However, Outlook email, Zoom and project board, which are hosted separately, will operate without interruption. The IT team will keep you informed of the cutover progress through regular email updates.
Note: The transition will not impact Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28.
Your support and feedback
Your support and understanding are essential during this project. If you have any concerns or feedback, we encourage you to share them with us at ucanrit@ucanr.edu.
Sree Mada
Chief Information Officer
Keywords and Categories
Categories and Keywords: Data, Data Center, Data Center Move, IT Equipment Upgrade, Server Upgrade, Software Update. Server Relocation, IT infrastructure, System Stability, User Experience, Schedule, Timeline, Cutover, UC ANR Websites, Site Builder, VMS, Transition, Plan, Information Technology.
Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft - Draft
2023-2024 IT Road Map
ANR has been limping along with outdated and overtaxed hardware, as well as custom software that is showing its age. The main goals of IT for 2023-2024 is to upgrade the web serverhardware and move it to a new data center, and develop the Integrated WebPlatform as a replacement for Site Builder. We continue to improve Security on our networks, and are striving to update or replace out-of-date software.
Road Map Scope
This road map was created with four strategic objectives
- Modernize ANR's digital landscape
- Enhance the customer experience
- Deliver stability
- Secure ANR’s assets
Data Center Move
Scheduled for December 9th, 10th, and 11th.
The new Data Center boasts a range of upgrades to ANR's IT Infrastructure
- Top-tier cooling and air filtration systems.
- Redundant power systems.
- Multiple cybersecurity certifications.
- Significantly faster broadband circuit.
- Physical access with biometrics.
New Equipment
Scheduled for December 9th, 10th, and 11th.
Along with the Data Center move, IT will be deploying brand new equipment to replace the aging, overtaxed, and outdated current hardware.
The equipment refresh will reduce our physical footprint from 17 physical machines to 5, enhancing efficiency and reducing our environmental impact.
Software and Improved Architecture
There are a number of updates to ANR Custom Software that we all use.
The Portal Home page has been reworked for up to a 20x speed increase. You can try it out here: New Super Speedy Portal Home Page
We are looking at Architecture changes to the Portal and various integrated software packages to help with speed and reliability updates to further enhance the hardware changes we are working on.
Security Enhancements
IT is constantly improving Security on our networks and on internal hardware and software.
Many of you have noticed improved VPN using Global Protect, and have benefited from regular updates.
Minimizing impact on your work
There may be necessary downtime and potential disruptions to IT services during this transition. The IT team is dedicated to minimizing the impact on your daily tasks. We will carefully schedule our activities to align with low-activity hours, aiming to keep any interruptions to a minimum. Please be aware that there may be unexpected downtime during this transition
Integrated Web Platform (IWP)
IT Web Developers are working hard on the IWP, and it is coming along quite nicely. Basic functionality and design is in place. The work that remains is integration with SSO, various HR applications, the Portal, and other software.
There will testing and bug fixing as we near our goal. It's important to understand that Site Builder was created over 15-20 years, and technology has changed dramatically over it's life. IWP will be released but it will continue to be developed and enhanced for usability and functionality for the foreseeable future.
To get us over the finish line and help with integration work, ANR IT is evaluating the bids from three contractors. Once we have chosen the winner, work will begin in January. We do not have a finish date.
Rollout Plan
[Explain how the updates will be implemented, including any downtime or disruptions]
[Timeline?]
Current Projects - including number of tickets etc.
What these improvements and enhancements mean to you. [ stuff goes here].
Summary
[Summary of what we are doing, and what we have coming]
-->