Featured Announcements
Update on Wireless Services
A WiFi access point is a device representing the network side of the wireless connection to your device. Continue reading
Slate for Student Success
ITS is implementing the student success solution from Technolutions’ Slate. Continue reading
Login and Network Issues
Since the start of the academic year, we have seen issues with Single Sign On (NetID) and with network connectivity in general. Continue reading
Managed Device Platforms
The university has policies that govern how data should be stored, accessed, or transmitted on university technology securely and that state our responsibility to protect it. Continue reading
Discount on IT Products for Personal Use
UConn faculty, staff, and students may purchase IT products for personal use at discounted prices. Continue reading
Changes to UConn’s Microsoft 365 environment
UConn Audit and Management Advisory Services (AMAS) recently completed a review of our Microsoft 365 tenant. Continue reading
Microsoft AI Services
Two artificial intelligence (AI) services are available to UConn employees. Continue reading
Updated Password Reset Process
Forgotten passwords must be reset. Continue reading
Adobe Licenses
The University has added new Adobe offerings to software.uconn.edu. Continue reading
Google Migration Update
ITS has been progressively transferring clients off Google. Continue reading
Training Resources through Viva Learning
Through our enterprise Microsoft 365 license, University employees have access to libraries of training content in Viva Learning. Continue reading
Laptop Loan for Foreign Travel
ITS has expanded its laptop program to improve data security for foreign travel. Continue reading
Security Update to Duo 2FA
2FA adds a second layer of protection to the login process. Continue reading
Updates to UConn Email Addresses
Previously, University email addresses followed the format of firstname.lastname@uconn.edu. Continue reading
Annual Disaster Recovery Test
DR is a critical IT operational capability designed to quickly restore and then deliver key services from an alternate location should there be a catastrophic loss of our production facilities in Storrs. Continue reading
Transition to AOVPN
DA enables remote Windows workstations to access the UConn network without traditional VPN connections. Continue reading
Kuali Financials Migration to the Cloud
Kuali Financials is a comprehensive software suite from KualiCo that serves as the University’s financial system of record for accounting and other fiscal operations. Continue reading
Staff Technology Day on June 4th
ITS and the Office of the Provost will co-host Staff Technology Day on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Continue reading
Update to ITS-Managed Workstations
We are updating workstations managed by ITS with Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). Continue reading
Update on Google Migration
ITS has communicated since July about discontinuing the university’s relationship with Google, and we have been working with our community to manage and migrate their Google data. Continue reading
Alumni Forwarding Service
ITS made the business decision to migrate away from Google’s Workspace services after they modified their terms and conditions. Continue reading
Changes to the Format of NetIDs
A NetID is a unique, public identifier that is assigned to every individual associated with the university. Continue reading
New Telecom Billing System
ITS is transitioning interdepartmental telecommunications (telecom) billing from Pinnacle to Softeligent. Continue reading
Improvements to UConn Data Network
Maintenance and management of the university data network infrastructure requires ongoing effort and upgrades in order to preserve or improve capacity, capabilities, and robustness. Continue reading
End-of-Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Tuesday, December 5, through Wednesday, December 20, 2023. Continue reading
Reporting Spam and Phishing Messages
There is a better process for reporting spam and phishing messages. Continue reading
Integration Platform Service
At UConn, ITS and other units acquire, maintain, and evolve various technologies to support the diverse business, research, and academic needs of the University. Continue reading
Changes to Email Addresses
ITS typically uses a standard firstname.lastname@uconn.edu format when we issue an official UConn email address. Continue reading
Atlassian SDLC Tools
The SDLC is an industry best practice methodology for planning, creating, and delivering software that effectively and efficiently meets business requirements and customer needs. Continue reading
Upcoming Windows 11 Deployment
Workstations with up-to-date operating systems receive the latest security patches, which provide protection against viruses and malware that can cause account and system-wide compromises. Continue reading
New Conference Room Bundle
Colleges, schools, and departments at the University purchase, install, maintain, and support the audio-visual (AV) infrastructure in their individual conference rooms. Continue reading
Quotas on Google Workspace Accounts
ITS will begin implementing storage quotas on Google Workspace accounts starting this October. Continue reading
Firewall Migration Project
Firewalls are network security devices that monitor and filter incoming and outgoing network traffic based on established policies. Continue reading
Phishing Awareness
Scammers are known to send messages that exploit the urgency of predictable events, such as tax season and the start of the school year, to more easily fool recipients into engaging. Continue reading
Updates to Email Communication Policy
Email is an official means of university communication. Email services are provided in support of the administrative and academic functions of the University, which may include various types of protected information (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA, PHI or PII types of data). Continue reading
Security Update for Managed Servers
The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks are prescriptive configuration recommendations for more than 25+ vendor product families. Continue reading
Remote Access Options
ITS has provided a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) gateway to facilitate external access to university computers (e.g., work desktops) from local devices at another location (e.g., your home computer). Continue reading
HuskyVision Service Changes
HuskyVision has been the University’s on-campus cable television service to residence halls and administrative buildings since 1998. Continue reading
Transitioning Google Workspace to Microsoft 365
The University has offered faculty, staff, and students two platforms for communication and collaboration – Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Continue reading
Updates to Management of Apple Devices
Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, have become ubiquitous, and our community utilizes them for a wide variety of tasks. Continue reading
Classroom Computer Replacement
ITS manages the multi-year life cycle of classroom technology, and this generally entails incrementally updating equipment over time. Continue reading
Protecting University Credentials
Your login credentials verify your identity and help guard your information. Continue reading
New Event Scheduling Service
EMS Campus is a cloud-hosted university-wide enterprise scheduling solution. Continue reading
Enhancement to Data Network
ITS has focused on the largest part of our wired network, the access layer or edge of our internal infrastructure, and has made significant progress raising it to a contemporary standard over the past four years. Continue reading
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Concern
AI technologies simulate higher level thinking and can be used to perform tasks that might typically require input from a person. Continue reading
Improvements to Azure Active Directory Single Sign On
ITS is updating Azure Active Directory Single Sign On on May 19, 2023. Continue reading
Viva Learning for Microsoft 365 Training
As part of our Microsoft enterprise agreement, UConn faculty and staff now have access to Viva Learning. Continue reading
Enhanced Access to Travel Expense Data
The University uses SAP Concur for travel and expense management. Continue reading
Disaster Recovery Test
DR is a critical IT operational capability designed to quickly restore and deliver key services from a remote location in response to a catastrophic loss of our production facilities in Storrs. ITS built and maintains a DR site in the state operated Groton data center. Continue reading
Duo 2FA Best Practices
Duo two-factor authentication is a multi-step account login technology that requires users to enter more information than just a password. Continue reading
Scheduling Capabilities in Microsoft 365
UConn faculty and staff use Microsoft 365 for their university email and calendaring, and many are accustomed to using Outlook to schedule meetings among colleagues. Continue reading
CEN Annual Member Conference
CEN, an open access Internet service provider, is hosting its annual conference at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT on May 11, 2023. Continue reading
Device Management
ITS provides direct management support for over 6,000 Windows workstations at the university. Continue reading
University Voice Services
VoIP enables you to make voice calls via a digital signal over the data network rather than over traditional phone lines. Continue reading
Vulnerability Management Platform
Kenna Security, a part of Cisco Systems, provides industry-leading technology that leverages threat intelligence and data science to identify and assess vulnerability risks, allowing IT professionals to better prioritize resources. Continue reading
Vendor Risk Management
The university community increasingly seeks systems, services, and capabilities that are hosted externally, which typically means that the associated data is stored outside of UConn. Continue reading
UConn LastPass Licenses
LastPass is a secure password manager that supports good password hygiene. Continue reading
Migration of File Services
Microsoft 365 delivers contemporary file sharing and storage capabilities with SharePoint and OneDrive. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, January 13, through Friday, January 27, 2023. Continue reading
Happy Holidays
The changes have kept coming in 2022. Continue reading
Changes to Internet Border Firewalls
Secure Shell (SSH) is a network protocol that normally operates on port 22 and allows remote logins to computers. Continue reading
Changes to Computer Patching
Software companies regularly release updates and patches to add features, fix bugs, and address vulnerabilities. Continue reading
End-of-Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Tuesday, December 6, through Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Continue reading
Thank You
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I write to thank everyone for their efforts and contributions. Continue reading
Security Improvement to AnyConnect VPN
AnyConnect utilizes NetID credentials for authentication, but it does not comply with our single sign on (SSO) standard. Continue reading
Duo 2FA Update
The requirement for 2FA protection when logging in using NetID Single Sign On, into Microsoft 365, or into the computers in centrally scheduled classrooms goes into effect on November 10th. Continue reading
Upgrade Out-of-Support Mobile Devices
ITS strongly encourages the use of up-to-date hardware and software. Continue reading
Managed Workstation Exemption Requests
ITS provides a managed workstation service for both university PCs and Macs where we require System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) for Windows and JAMF for OSX to patch and maintain the operating systems and Defender ATP, an endpoint detection and response platform, to protect against malware and other attacks. Continue reading
Support for Kuali Build
Kuali Build is a cloud-based application development platform that enables code-free creation of online forms and automated approval workflows for university units and departments. Continue reading
Changes to Simulated Phishing Program
Phishing attacks are a regular occurrence for every higher education institution and ensuring awareness to these risks is vital to protecting institutional and individual systems and data. Continue reading
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is Cybersecurity Awareness month. This is a national campaign designed to highlight the importance of cybersecurity and provide Americans with the information and resources needed to be safer and more secure online. Continue reading
Update on UConn VPN
ITS has been in the process of transitioning our VPN service from our legacy Pulse Secure to our new Cisco AnyConnect. Continue reading
Upgrades Completed in UConn Data Center
The UConn primary data center is an access-controlled location with the specialized support, equipment, and facilities needed to properly house the servers, storage, and key network elements for much of the University’s critical cyber infrastructure. Continue reading
Upcoming Improvements to Remote Desktop Support
ITS, in collaboration with UConn IT partners, began a software review this past spring of products used to remotely access and troubleshoot client computers. Continue reading
Expansion of Duo 2FA Protection
2FA greatly protects data and applications from compromise by using a second source of validation, like a phone or token, to verify user identity before granting access. Continue reading
Kuali Financials
UConn has initiated the project to move Kuali Financials from on-premise to a cloud-hosted solution. Continue reading
Changes to Legacy Messaging Protocol Authentication
Modern authentication uses OAuth, a widely adopted framework that provides a secure user authentication workflow and includes support for interactive multi-factor authentication and risk analysis. Continue reading
Changes to UConn Wireless Networks
ITS is implementing two changes to the UConn wireless (Wi-Fi) networks at the beginning of August. Continue reading
Fourth Phase of Wired Access Layer Refresh (WALR) Project
WALR is a multi-year infrastructure initiative to upgrade the data network on every campus to a contemporary engineered standard. Continue reading
Updates to Storrs High Performance Computing (HPC) Facilities
HPC gives researchers the power and capacity to process large amounts of data (big data) and solve complex computational problems. It is fundamental to the university mission of research and figures prominently in many proposals.
Microsoft Office 365 Security Update
Criminals use stolen credentials to attack accounts and cause harm to organizations and individuals, but there are multiple, complimentary strategies that offer protection. Continue reading
Dropbox and Filelocker
We will be deprecating the ITS-provided Dropbox and Filelocker services. Continue reading
Deployment of Microsoft Windows 11
Windows 11, the latest version of Microsoft’s client operating system, was released on October 5, 2021. Continue reading
Updates to ITS-Managed Computer Labs
ITS deploys, operates, and maintains the equipment in computer labs located in the libraries on all UConn campuses. Continue reading
Update on Network Refresh Project
WALR is a data network refresh initiative to upgrade the infrastructure on every campus to a contemporary engineered standard. Continue reading
Annual Disaster Recovery Test
DR is a critical operational IT capability designed and intended to quickly restore and deliver key services from a remote location in response to the catastrophic loss of our production facilities in Storrs. Continue reading
Update on Remote Desktop Support
We communicated with you in early April that ITS was pursuing strategies to reduce risks to university desktops. Continue reading
Email Safety and Security Feature
Links are often included in email messages because they deliver additional information or provide an avenue for action. Continue reading
Microsoft SharePoint
ITS is shifting to Microsoft SharePoint as a strategic technology for services. Continue reading
Management of Wireless Data Network
ITS is updating how we will support our wireless data network. Continue reading
Changes to Remote Desktop Support
Desktop support is performed by specialized technicians who directly access individual computers and other devices to resolve technical and other operating issues. Continue reading
Improvements to the University’s Data Center
The transition to cloud-based IT solutions is an industry wide trend that continues unabated. Continue reading
Seamless Single Sign-On (SSO)
ITS is enabling Seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) for all domain-joined Windows workstations on April 18, 2022. Continue reading
Kuali Financials Upgrade
Kuali Financials is a comprehensive software suite that serves as the University’s financial system of record for accounting and other fiscal operations. Continue reading
CEN’s 2022 Annual Member Conference
CEN, an open access Internet service provider, is hosting its annual conference at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT on May 5, 2022. Continue reading
2FA Service for Students
Duo two-factor authentication (2FA) service is now formally available to students. Continue reading
Changes to Transition Plans for VPN service
The University’s legacy Pulse Secure VPN infrastructure was inadequate to meet growing needs, and we chose industry leading Cisco AnyConnect as its successor. Continue reading
Update on Firewall Migration Project
The legacy Fortinet OPS firewall protects the servers and applications housed within the University data center from malicious traffic. Continue reading
Changes to Office 365 Email
Office 365 is a Microsoft cloud product that includes Office and other services. Continue reading
Updates to the UConn Knowledge Base
We maintain the Knowledge Base (KB) on Confluence, Atlassian’s collaboration tool. Continue reading
Happy Holidays
This year continues to be one of transition for our community. Continue reading
Financial Aid Data Mart
The University’s Office of Student Financial Aid Services produces numerous reports that are required to comply with federal and state statutes. Continue reading
New University Data Integration Strategy
UConn has a substantive collection of applications that share information as a normal and useful part of their operation. Continue reading
Transition to Managed Mobility Provider
ITS selected Motus as the new service provider for university-issued cellular phones that will manage all aspects of the process and deliver the extended, 24-hour support that has long been requested by our community. Continue reading
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Wrap-Up
Throughout October, ITS engaged in activities consistent with the national campaign’s overarching theme of individual and organizational responsibility. Continue reading
New Form and Workflow Tool
The new Kuali Build integrated forms and automated approval workflow tool is now generally available. Continue reading
Update on New VPN Service
AnyConnect is an industry leading and widely used VPN service that ITS selected to replace our legacy Pulse Secure VPN service. Continue reading
Updated University IT Security Policies
Regular review and revision of policies is part of evolving a mature information security program that protects systems and data for both our community and the institution. Continue reading
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
ITS is kicking off a communication series for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Continue reading
New Tuition Waiver Tool
A new employee and spousal tuition waiver tool was launched on the first day of classes. Continue reading
New Concurrent Enrollment App
UConn Early College Experience provides opportunities for non-matriculated high school students to take UConn courses at their school. Continue reading
Updates to Digital Signage
ITS offers Carousel Digital Signage service for the University that includes both large signs, frequently displayed in lobbies, and smaller room signs. Our vendor announced that their on-premise system would be end-of-life by 2022, at which time our existing service would stop receiving updates. Continue reading
Launch of New On-Campus Printing Service
ITS launched Wepa at the start of the semester as a replacement for HuskyPrint. Continue reading
Registration of Wireless Devices
The internet protocol (IP) addresses for devices on the UConn network are overwhelmingly dynamic and are issued automatically by the network for specified durations. Continue reading
Changes to the University Virtual Private Network (VPN) Service
The current VPN service is offered using Pulse Secure. Increased demand attributed to telecommuting and other remote activities exposed limitations in its deployed capacity and ability to manage higher loads effectively. Continue reading
Parking System Upgrade
TickeTrak is the University’s parking system. Continue reading
Adding Cisco Umbrella to Administrative Computers
Cisco Umbrella is a Domain Name System (DNS) filtering product that guards against threats on the internet, such as malware, phishing, and ransomware. Continue reading
IT Support for Returning Employees
University employees will begin returning to their campus workspaces on or after August 16 after being away for nearly a year and half. Continue reading
Changes to On-Campus Printing
HuskyPrint is the current ITS on-campus for fee printing service designed primarily for students, but also open to the community. Continue reading
Changes to Cellular Services
ITS has been responsible for coordinating the purchase, provisioning, and support of university-issued cellular phones. Continue reading
Zero Day Vulnerability Mitigation
ITS is making an emergency change on July 1, 2021 at 5:00 pm on Windows workstations and servers in the UConn Active Directory. Continue reading
Classroom Technology Update
ITS has progressively equipped centrally-scheduled classrooms with capabilities that support remote teaching and learning. Continue reading
Cybersecurity Review
Substantive elements of the University’s information technology cybersecurity infrastructure will be reviewed by Deloitte, an external agency. Continue reading
Webinars in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams previously offered two main web conferencing features that served two distinct use cases. Meetings was available for connecting one-on-one or with small groups and Live Events for broadcasting to a large audience. Continue reading
Update on Refresh of UConn Network
ITS continues our multi-year initiative to update networking for all campuses and bring the whole University to a contemporary standard. Continue reading
Changes to VPN Service
The University’s move to a mostly remote learning and working environment over the past year has put a strain on many of our capabilities. Continue reading
Improvements to Webex Events
Webex is a cloud platform used for on-demand collaboration, virtual meetings, web conferencing, and videoconferencing. Many faculty and staff have turned to it for hosting and participating in large presentations and conferences, which are common activities at universities. Continue reading
Training on Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive is a Microsoft hosted cloud storage solution available to everyone at the university through our Microsoft 365 licensing agreement. Continue reading
Technology in Conference Rooms
ITS has released the latest standard design for the audio-visual technology in university conference rooms. Continue reading
Annual Disaster Recovery Test
ITS has scheduled disaster recovery testing of our tier 1 services for the week of June 6. Continue reading
Solution for Call Centers
ITS is formally introducing the Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX) service offering.
When UConn shifted to mostly work from home in March 2020, ITS quickly organized a solution to permit units to answer university phone calls remotely.
Updates to IT Status
ITS maintains the IT Status page to communicate information about planned and unplanned outages, service disruptions, and other community impacting situations. Continue reading
Electronic Payment Solution
ITS, Accounts Payable, and the Office of the Bursar are providing the University with flexible and secure vendor payment options. Continue reading
Patch Management
The companies that provide our software, such as Microsoft and Google, regularly release updates and patches to add features, fix bugs, and address vulnerabilities. It is our general operating position that all software should be properly maintained and all relevant patches applied. Continue reading
Transition to Microsoft Outlook Modern Authentication
We are currently using basic authentication at the University. It has security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by brute force or password spray attacks. Continue reading
File Storage Changes
ITS is introducing archiving to the ITS provided Q: and R: drives. Continue reading
Community Device Programs
ITS has engaged in a number of initiatives to help ensure that our community has access to contemporary devices of sufficient quality to facilitate their research, teaching, and learning success. Continue reading
Data Center Firewall
ITS is migrating networks and applications hosted in the UConn data center to a new firewall. Continue reading
Microsoft 365 Available to UConn Students
Microsoft 365, which is the rebadged Office 365 service, is a collection of communication, collaboration, and productivity applications that are available through our enterprise-wide education license to all active faculty, staff, and students. Continue reading
New Webex Functionality
Use of our supported videoconferencing solutions – Webex, Teams, and Collaborate – increased by over 400% at UConn when we went fully online in March 2020. Continue reading
New “Tech Check” Support Service for Instructors
Much of the university continues to teach, learn, and work primarily from home or other off-site locations. This has allowed the University to remain safely open, but it has changed the IT support landscape. Continue reading
Additional Protection from Web-based Threats
ITS will be implementing a Domain Name System (DNS) filtering product, Cisco Umbrella, to enhance protection against web-based threats. Continue reading
Results of Simulated Phishing Campaign
The ITS Security Office recently initiated a simulated phishing campaign at the request of the Joint Audit and Compliance Committee (JACC). UConn faculty and staff received test messages this past October that mimicked a common attack. Continue reading
Changes to Device Support
ITS is simplifying and streamlining individual support services. The Technology Support Center (TSC) is housed in Homer Babbidge Library (HBL) and provides general IT support to faculty, staff, and students. Continue reading
Remote Access Updates
ITS is implementing changes that will better secure remote connectivity to campus. Continue reading
Additions to myUConn
Since the release of the redesigned myUConn app this fall, ITS and our partners have leveraged features to better support community engagement during this unprecedented semester. Continue reading
Partnership to Deliver Survey Capability
The University needed a way to collect, analyze, and act on large amounts of health-related data so that students could return. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, August 26, and goes through Monday, September 7.
Adobe Creative Cloud update
Adobe CC is a set of applications for video, design, photography, and the web.
Updated myUConn
myUConn is the official UConn mobile application that connects our community to a collection of information and services which enhance campus life and online experiences. Continue reading
Student Technology Training course
A new Student Technology Training course is available.
Removal of Spirion (formerly Identity Finder)
ITS will be removing Spirion from university-owned computers. Continue reading
Device Requirements for Student Success
The University is announcing device requirements for new and continuing UConn students. Continue reading
Updates to Microsoft Enterprise Licensing
ITS negotiates an annual Microsoft enterprise license on behalf of UConn. Continue reading
University-Wide Transition from Skype to Microsoft Teams
Teams and Skype for Business are available to everyone at the University through Office 365. Continue reading
Upcoming communications about account security
A key role of enterprise IT is identifying security risks and protecting our community from them as much as practical. Continue reading
2FA to PeopleSoft
ITS is adding two-factor authentication protection to PeopleSoft.
Software on University-Owned Assets
The institution and individuals have the obligation to use software properly on all university-owned computing assets.
Classroom Lecture Capture Enhancements
ITS is adding self-service lecture capture capabilities to more UConn classrooms.
New Account Sponsorship App
A new Account Sponsorship application is available on netid.uconn.edu.
Website Accessibility Enhancement
Ally Alternative, a website accessibility enhancement for Aurora, has been enabled for many university websites. Continue reading
UConn AnyWare Updates
UConn AnyWare is an ITS service that provides desktop virtualization using VMWare Horizon and application virtualization of university-licensed software using Citrix Virtual Apps. Continue reading
Webex Events
Webex Events at UConn allows you or a panel to host online events and webinars for up to 1,000 participants and stream for up to 40,000 attendees. Continue reading
Web Conferencing Security
ITS supports the following web conferencing solutions: Microsoft Teams, Blackboard Collaborate, Google Hangouts, and WebEx. Continue reading
Webex Security Enhancement
ITS is making a change to Webex tonight, April 15, that will enable better protection of meetings.
The incidence of uninvited and disruptive guests crashing video conferencing meetings has increased. In response, ITS is implementing a change in Webex to better protect against these intrusions. Starting at 10:00 pm tonight, all personal meeting rooms will be “locked” by default. When participants join the locked conference, they will wait in the “lobby” until admitted by the meeting host. The host can admit some, all, or none of the participants. When using WebEx as a telephone bridge, the host will need to unlock the room by pressing *5 to allow entry. Hosts may also adjust or disable the personal lock settings in advance but should be aware of the potential risk.
If a disruption occurs, the host should first expel the participant and then report the incident to techsupport@uconn.edu (please include your NetID and the time/date of the meeting). Below are how-to articles that will help you manage your room and lock settings.
If you have questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at techsupport@uconn.edu.
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Drive Migration Assistant
ITS offers a new utility that simplifies the transition from the P: drive to Microsoft OneDrive.
Change moratorium update
The University and its community have proven to be quite resilient over the past few weeks, and many, if not most, activities have shifted to either partially or fully remote. Continue reading
IT Guide to Telecommuting
Current events have resulted in increased use of systems, services, and capabilities that support remote teaching, learning, meeting, and collaborating. Continue reading
Chat plugin available for Aurora websites
Tawk.to is a service that ITS uses on the Technology Support Center website. Continue reading
Expansion of Network Services
ITS has expanded network services to support remote activities. Continue reading
Limited Moratorium
ITS will have a limited moratorium on activities or efforts that have the potential to disrupt remote access starting Saturday, March 14, through Monday, April 6. Continue reading
Classroom Directory Tool
The Office of the Registrar has historically offered information about centrally-scheduled classrooms on their website. Continue reading
Cisco Webex Board pilot
The ITS audiovisual team is working with the Quantitative Learning Center (Q Center) to pilot the use of Cisco Webex Board. Continue reading
ITS Mass Mail Service
Our community may need to send bulk email to hundreds or even thousands of people. Continue reading
Concur Update
The SAP Concur project is a collaborative UConn initiative to implement a best-in-class, cloud-based Travel and Expense management service for the university.
Network Service
Between 12:10 am – 2:40 am on Thursday, February 13, there may be interruptions to internet connectivity while the Internet Service Provider performs planned network maintenance.
Newsletter Service: Soapbox Announcement System
The UConn Daily Digest is a recurring publication created to keep the university community informed while simultaneously reducing the number of messages sent to individual inboxes. Continue reading
New Security Feature for Email Service
ITS will be adding a banner security feature to our email service. Continue reading
Digital Wayfinding Service
A new digital wayfinding service is available to help faculty, staff, students, and guests better navigate the campus. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, January 17, through Monday, January 27. Continue reading
Wireless in Gampel
The deployment of full wireless network service is complete for Gampel Pavilion. Continue reading
New Firewall Platform
A robust IT security program to protect institutional assets is based on multiple layers. Continue reading
Whitepaper on Innovation
In a Town Hall presentation, I noted that innovation is the highest maturity level for an organization. Continue reading
Self service video conferencing
The University uses WebEx, a videoconferencing application that enables online meetings in a virtual room, to host interviews with remote applicants.
End of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, December 4, through Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Continue reading
Email Update on O365
Phishing messages continue to be one of our larger security threats. Continue reading
Cybersecurity
UConn is introducing a potential cybersecurity enhancement.
Student Work Accounts
Student employees occupy dual roles at the University. As students, they have access to information and resources consistent with this academic role. Continue reading
Password Standards
Passwords verify your identity, which protects against account compromises and fraudulent access to data and resources. Continue reading
Voter Registration Feature
A new voter registration feature is available on the Student Administration (SA) system. Continue reading
Windows 10 Deployment
Up-to-date software and operating systems (OS) on workstations are essential for secure, robust IT operations. Continue reading
Community Dynamics and Reputation Change
As members of the IT community, we all contribute to the fulfillment of the institutional mission of research, teaching, learning, and outreach. Continue reading
Data Network Refresh
The data network represents a large capital investment in facilities, cabling, and equipment. It is central to the vast majority of university activities, and demands on this vital resource continue to increase over time. Continue reading
Phishing Awareness
We typically see a surge in phishing at the beginning of each fall semester. The trend has continued this year with a substantive increase in emails being launched from compromised university accounts or masquerading as institutional messaging. Continue reading
Self-Service Lecture Capture
ITS has expanded self-service capabilities for the Kaltura Lecture Capture (KLC) service. Self-service recording is now part of the standard classroom technology package and self-service live streaming available in lecture halls and large venues. Continue reading
Changes to HuskyPrint Service
HuskyPrint is a computer printing service with over 30 printers located on all six campuses. It was designed for students but is open to the entire UConn community. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, August 21, through Monday, September 2. Continue reading
New private media plugin for Aurora
Aurora is a multisite WordPress Service that enables customers to publish websites that meet institutional brand and accessibility standards, have a mobile responsive design, and remain current with security updates. Continue reading
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility policy
University has approved and published the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility policy.
Continue reading
Revamped netid.uconn.edu
Your network identifier (NetID) and password credentials are essential to navigating online resources at UConn. Continue reading
ITS annual progress report
In 2014, we published a strategic plan that was well aligned to the existing university landscape.
UConn Bookstore Student Account Program
Students can opt to join the new UConn Bookstore Student Account Program.
University Chief Information Security Officer
Dr. Chris Bernard will be joining ITS on July 19 as the new university Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Continue reading
Wireless in Campus Outdoor Areas
ITS is expanding wireless network coverage in campus outdoor areas. Continue reading
Recommendations for Antivirus Protection on Macs
When Microsoft suddenly ended support for System Center Endpoint Protection (SCEP), ITS implemented ESET Endpoint Protection as a one year bridge strategy and began exploring viable options for long-term antivirus solutions for Macs. Continue reading
UCONN Storrs Campus Emergency Power Test
We are writing share our plans to manage IT services during the upcoming planned power outage. Continue reading
New course catalog search tool
A new course search tool is available at catalog.uconn.edu. Continue reading
Digital Signage Update
Service updates are available for the digital signage service. Continue reading
End of semester moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, May 1, through Monday, May 13, 2019.
Improving Network Port Utilization
ITS is pursuing an approach to improve network port utilization.
Adobe CC Purchasing Program for Faculty and Staff
The ITS Adobe Create Cloud (CC) purchasing program is now available to UConn faculty, staff, and graduate students. Continue reading
UConn and UConn Health student systems
UConn and UConn Health are consolidating student systems.
University Data Network
ITS is updating elements of the university data network. Continue reading
Enhancement to UConn Bus Service
We recently completed a hardware/software project to facilitate improved bus service at the University. Continue reading
Advanced Data Analytics
ITS is beginning to assess advanced data analytics solutions.
New Self-Service Exam Scanning
New self-service option for the ITS Scantron service.
Network Refresh Projects
ITS recently completed network refresh projects for both Wilbur Cross and the Student Union.
Formal Implementation of 2FA Service
ITS two-factor authentication (2FA) enhanced security project has moved into its formal implementation phase.
New Student Administration Data Mart
The University is transitioning to a new Student Administration Data Mart (SADM). Continue reading
Beginning of semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, January 16, through Monday, January 28.
Status of P: Drive
On Tuesday, December 11, our community began to experience intermittent delays accessing the P: drive. Continue reading
Latency issues with P: drive
ITS has received reports that access to the personal (P) drive is intermittently degraded. Continue reading
End of semester moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, December 7, through Monday, December 17, 2018. Continue reading
IT Security Awareness Resource
Security threats to personal and institutional information are an ongoing risk. Continue reading
Communication Resource
Written messages are a formal part of interaction for IT professionals at UConn and elsewhere. Continue reading
ITS Support Strategy
A primary way our community interacts with IT at the University is through formal and informal support channels. Continue reading
New Display Name Tool
Advance information about a new tool for updating display names in UConn directories is now available. Continue reading
Status of 2FA Service
2FA prevents unauthorized access to online resources by imposing two independent forms of identification in order for you to successfully authenticate. Continue reading
Pilot of HuskyCT Blackboard Ally
HuskyCT is the University’s Blackboard learning management system (LMS) used by instructors for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational material for courses or programs. Continue reading
ITS Strategic Plan Annual Report
The ITS Strategic Plan, delivered in 2014, encapsulates our best practical thinking about institutional IT and communicates long term directions for the organization. Continue reading
NetID Self-Service
ITS has launched a NetID self-service communications campaign. Continue reading
Adobe Creative Cloud for UConn Students
The University has been negotiating over the past months with Adobe for their Creative Cloud product. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, August 22, through Monday, September 3.
Risk and Compliance Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Starting this week, ITS Information Security Office is sending a Risk and Compliance Self-Assessment Questionnaire to designated IT professionals in each school, college, campus, and department. Continue reading
New IT Accessibility Website
Accessible digital content and technologies ensure broader engagement by removing impediments for people with disabilities. Continue reading
Wireless Expansion Project Update
The university community relies on multiple devices and effective wireless infrastructure Continue reading
Updates to Lecture Capture
ITS supports hardware and software used for recording, streaming, and sharing classroom and other instructional content. Continue reading
ITS status update
The overwhelming majority of systems, services, and capabilities have resumed. Continue reading
IT solutions for our functional partners
In our strategic plan, one of our core goals is to pursue IT solutions with our functional partners that support and evolve business processes at the University. Continue reading
Update to Email Service on 6/25
ITS implemented new email filtering capabilities in university email systems.
New Classroom System Capability
ITS has added a WePresent wireless projection and device mirroring device to the standard deployment for Hi-Tech classrooms. Continue reading
Architectural changes to email service
View technical details for the upcoming architectural changes to the university email service.
Operating update to university websites
ITS is making updates to university websites that will provide better support for explicit disclosure and acceptance of data collection. Continue reading
Delegated Access Available
Delegated Access is now available. It is a new feature in the University’s Student Administration System (Student Admin) that enables students to share access to certain portions of their education record.
Stata/SE availability
Stata/SE will be available to all UConn faculty, staff, and students starting July 1, 2018.
AutoCAD for Education
AutoCAD for Education is now available to UConn faculty, staff, and students.
End of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, April 27, through Monday, May 7, 2018.
New Reporting Tool in Student Admin
BI Publisher is a new reporting tool for the UConn Student Administration (SA) system. Continue reading
Enhancements to Software Website
ITS has enhanced the university’s software website, software.uconn.edu. Continue reading
Pending changes to the University Active Directory environment
Active Directory (AD) is a foundational technology that supports identity and access management at UConn. Continue reading
Changes to Scantron service
The Scantron exam scanning service will be modified. Continue reading
Two-Factor Authentication Service
ITS is focused on protecting our community, their personal information, and institutional data as we evolve systems, services, and capabilities. Phishing and other nefarious activities attempt to circumvent security practices by stealing your credentials and using them to access sensitive information. Continue reading
High Performance Computing
ITS announces recent investments in the Storrs High Performance Computing (HPC) facility. Continue reading
Investments in Storrs HPC facility
ITS announces recent investments in the Storrs High Performance Computing (HPC) facility.
Improvements to Email Handling
ITS will be testing an improvement to the University’s email handling.
Organization Name Change
We have changed our name to Information Technology Services (ITS). Continue reading
Installation of patches and updates
ITS advocates for the timely installation of patches and updates on all devices. Continue reading
Update on wireless expansion
ITS received funds from the administration in FY17 to expand wireless network service in university administrative and academic buildings. Continue reading
Update on Microsoft Windows 10 deployment
It is important from a robust operations as well as a security perspective that all software be up-to-date and fully patched. Continue reading
‘Tis the Season for Identity Theft
Cyber criminals notoriously exploit current events, like tax season, to mimic legitimate email messages. Continue reading
Kaltura Lecture Capture Self-Service
The Kaltura Lecture Capture (KLC) service now has enhanced self-service capabilities.
End of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, December 8, through Monday, December 18, 2017.
Modification to UConn Directories
ITS has modified the UConn directories.
Status of ongoing system problem
The ITS major storage subsystem has been experiencing intermittent performance problems. Continue reading
Storage issues impacting services
Intermittent issues with the university’s storage environment are impacting authentication as well as all local services that rely on storage. Continue reading
Student Employee Affiliation in LDAP
ITS is creating a new affiliation in LDAP. Continue reading
Identity Finder updates or installs as Spirion
ITS will be updating the security software deployed to managed workstations on November 16. It will display the new product name and logo Spirion.
Phishing education
ITS has implemented changes that will help members of our community better protect themselves from phishing emails.
Aurora service changes
ITS has made changes to the Aurora service in response to the Chrome web browser security updates.
Classroom signage
New procedures and signage for UConn classrooms is being implemented to keep them ready for teaching and learning.
Aurora web content service updates
ITS has made recent updates to the Aurora web content service.
Annual Strategic Plan Progress Report
ITS publishes annual Strategic Plan progress report.
New UConn email website
ITS launches a new site for UConn email services.
Classroom Technology Lifecycle Plan
ITS has updated the classroom technology lifecycle plan.
Updated computer labs
ITS has updated the computer labs in university libraries.
Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, August 23, through Monday, September 4.
Addition of Kaltura Lecture Capture
ITS has added the Kaltura Lecture Capture to our service offerings.
Identity and Access Management projects
The Identity and Access Management (IAM) team has created a roadmap to share projects planned for the University.
Digital Signage Service
An enterprise-wide digital signage service is now available. Continue reading
MBAM self-service portal
ITS has established a self-service portal in our Microsoft Bitlocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) environment.
Device information and location services
ITS is making two services available to our IT Community that can be used to provide information about devices connected to the UConn network. Continue reading
Relocation of UITS Offices
Beginning in August, the University is renovating the Gant Science Complex, and before construction starts, ITS offices housed in the building have relocated or are relocating to the following areas on campus: Continue reading
UITS database hosting service
ITS is announcing the formal availability of a database hosting service. Continue reading
Disaster Recovery Plan
This past week, ITS concluded our annual test of our DR plan. Continue reading
Expansion of Wireless Service
ITS will be expanding the wireless network service in university administrative and academic buildings. Continue reading
SSH Gateway
The Secure Shell (SSH) Gateway is now available. Continue reading
Protect your computer from ransomware
The recent cyberattack involving ransomware has been infecting computers and critical systems worldwide since Friday. Continue reading
Testing of spam filtering services
ITS is exploring approaches to enhance the University’s protection from spam emails. Continue reading
Storrs HPC facility
Operational changes to the Storrs High Performance Computing (HPC) facility will be effective July 1. Continue reading
Access to Microsoft products for UConn Health
ITS and UConn Health have collaborated to improve accessibility to Microsoft products for faculty, staff, and students. Continue reading
End of semester moratorium April 29 – May 12
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, April 29 through Friday, May 12, 2017. Continue reading
New IT Community Site
ITS has created an IT Community site (itcommunity.uconn.edu) designed to provide our technical colleagues and stakeholders with information germane to their positions and professional interests at the University. Continue reading
Changes to University’s Student Adobe Contract
ITS is announcing upcoming changes to the University’s student-use Adobe contract. Continue reading
OneUConn IT Service Delivery Vision
ITS has been developing a vision for expanding and enhancing service delivery to all UConn campuses. Continue reading
FEB availability
The IBM Forms Experience Builder (FEB) system is available to developers within our IT community. Continue reading
Upcoming changes to UCONN-GUEST; Encouraging use of UCONN-SECURE
Two wireless networks that ITS provides are designed and intended to serve different populations. Continue reading
Help Center text-based chat
The ITS Technology Support Center offers a chat support option. Continue reading
UConn AnyWare
UConn AnyWare is now generally available. Continue reading
HuskyCT architecture changes
An architecture change was recently implemented for HuskyCT. Continue reading
Phishing attacks and how to avoid being scammed
Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, social security numbers, and credit card details (and, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Continue reading
Update on centrally licensed software
ITS has updated centrally licensed software.
Individual software is a general IT resource that impacts every part of our community, allowing each of us to be more successful in our respective roles. Continue reading
Student Admin resources and landing page
Updates to the PeopleSoft Student Administration System (Student Admin) have enhanced its support resources and improved its landing page. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, January 11, through Monday, January 23. Continue reading
Email service choice for students
Google Apps for Education was chosen for students because it was both a good fit for and a strong preference of this population. Continue reading
Email service choice for students
Google Apps for Education was chosen for students because it was both a good fit for and a strong preference of this population. Continue reading
Enhancements to institutional file storage
Over the past year, ITS has made strategic investments in data storage infrastructure in support of institutional and research activities. Continue reading
Cisco Meeting Server bridge available
Cisco Meeting Server (CMS) bridge is now available for video conferencing.
Pilot of Kaltura
A pilot version of Kaltura is available to UConn instructors and students. Continue reading
New service offerings
ITS has two new service offerings for our community. Continue reading
P: drive expansion
ITS has expanded the available storage space on personal (P:) drives. Continue reading
Changes to address ID issues
ITS has established structural changes in order to address our current identity management issues. Continue reading
IT Systems Status and Alerts
Our frontline source for reporting up-to-date information about central systems is the IT Systems Status site. Continue reading
Long-term plans to sunset select legacy web servers
As with any technology, the University’s web servers and supporting resources evolve over time, offering more sophisticated features and better performance. Continue reading
All IT Staff Conference
We designed the IT All Staff Conference with our IT community in mind; we wanted to create an environment conducive to networking and a forum where IT staff could share their accomplishments. Continue reading
How to request and advocate for centrally-funded software
As a central provider of IT services, ITS is responsible for licensing, procuring, delivering, and maintaining software delivered at an institutional level. Continue reading
Upcoming firewall changes
ITS will implement firewall changes on September 13th that will impact the university wireless network. Continue reading
Updated Dell Computer Image
New Dell computers ordered on or after Monday, August 22nd through the HuskyPC program will ship with Windows 10 (Win10) as the installed operating system. Continue reading
New software site license
The Schrödinger Small-Molecule Drug Discovery Suite is now available to UConn faculty, staff, and students on all campuses. Continue reading
Q: drive mapping
ITS has updated automatic Q: drive mapping on ITS managed workstations. Continue reading
Password recovery options
ITS has begun a campaign to encourage our UConn community to set password recovery options for their NetID accounts. Continue reading
Expanded access to MATLAB
Expanded access to the MathWorks MATLAB software will be available to UConn faculty, staff, and students on all campuses, including Farmington, beginning July 1, 2016. Continue reading
eSignLive available
eSignLive, a web based electronic signature product, is now available for use by university departments, schools, and colleges. Continue reading
Student email accounts
We are writing to share our plans for the persistence of student email accounts. Continue reading
New email security features
Message encryption and rights management is preliminarily available on the university’s Office 365 email system. Continue reading
End of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, April 29 through Saturday, May 14, 2016. Continue reading
Update to voicemail implementation
A number of concerns about the voicemail to email integration have been surfaced by university stakeholders. Continue reading
New firewall policy
UConn and many other universities were recently victims of a network attack where unrestricted, Internet accessible printers were remotely activated and used to print offensive propaganda. Continue reading
IT Strategic Plan Article
A little over a year ago, we finalized UConn’s five-year strategic plan for information technology. Continue reading
New email enhancement
Plus Email Addressing, also known as sub-addressing, allows you to create variations of a normal email address that will still be delivered to your institutional email account. Continue reading
New IT security resource for community
Threats to personal and institutional information security are an ongoing reality for network connected individuals and organizations. Continue reading
IT Smart: New Business-to-Department service relationship model
Understanding the relationship between services and our community is the key to effectively meeting the needs of our constituents and is the primary perspective that informed the design of our models for service delivery. Continue reading
UConn cable tv going digital
While public broadcast and cable television throughout the country were required to transition from analog to digital, private installations like we have at the University did not have this obligation. Continue reading
DirectAccess service
External access to restricted university resources has traditionally been provided via our authenticated Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. Continue reading
IT Smart: Blackboard’s Portfolio
Portfolio is a tool within UConn’s Blackboard learning management system that enables instructors and students to collect, organize, and share completed work. Continue reading
Information security and technology policies
The Information Security Office would like to share draft information security and technology policies and to ask for your review and feedback before they are finalized. Continue reading
IT service incident
On Sunday, December 27th, the University of Connecticut was the victim of an IT service compromise. Continue reading
Voicemail system
ITS will be replacing the voicemail system for faculty and staff on the UConn Storrs campus. Continue reading
Moratorium – December 13 – December 24, 2015
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Sunday, December 13 through Thursday, December 24, 2015. Continue reading
Preview UConn AnyWare
ITS would like to let you know about an opportunity to preview our new application virtualization service, UConn AnyWare. Continue reading
IT community mailing list changes
ITS has made changes to our IT community mailing lists.
We maintain an IT Contacts mailing list that is delivered through our listserv environment and includes all ITS staff, university-wide IT staff, and other stakeholders with a vested interest in IT. Continue reading
Integration of exam schedules
The final exam schedule for the Storrs campus has, in recent years, been generated within a software package that the university utilizes to manage room resources. Continue reading
Report on IT Strategic Plan
A year ago, ITS published the final version of our 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan, a culmination of a collaborative development and review process. Continue reading
Identity Finder
ITS is preparing to reinstate Identity Finder. Continue reading
Networked Servers
The goal of all university IT, both central and distributed, is to ensure the secure and robust operation of institutional IT assets for our UConn community. Continue reading
Process improvements for NetIDadmin accounts
The process for requesting and activating NetIDadmin accounts has been improved. Continue reading
Blackboard Collaborate available
UConn instructors leverage our learning management system, HuskyCT, for a wide range of activities, from supplementing coursework to delivering online classes that extend the University’s reach beyond the campuses. Continue reading
Mass mailing service
When rogue email accounts are used to spam the internet, downstream providers typically respond by blocking all email from the source server. Continue reading
Network connectivity
During this past week, the university community experienced intermittent outages and performance issues with network connectivity. Continue reading
Launch of revamped myUConn
ITS has launched a revamped version of the university’s mobile application myUConn. Continue reading
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Wednesday, August 26, through Monday, September 14. Continue reading
Update of NetID Single Sign On
ITS will deploy an update of the NetID Single Sign On prompt on Tuesday, August 18. Continue reading
Mainframe migration completed
ITS is happy to announce that the migration of Genesys from UConn to PSR went smoothly and our local mainframe is now decommissioned. Continue reading
Final update on mainframe decommissioning
This is the final update about our local mainframe decommissioning and its transition to an external provider. Continue reading
HuskyVision switching to digital
HuskyVision will be transferred from analog to digital broadcast television for the fall semester. Continue reading
MSB power shutdown, 8/8
A power shutdown in the Math-Science Building (MSB) is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 8th between 5:00 am – 5:00 pm. Continue reading
New configuration on high-tech classroom computers
ITS has developed a new configuration for our high-tech classroom computers. Continue reading
Progress on High Availability
Below is an update on our progress developing High Availability (HA) capabilities for ITS systems and services.
HA represents continuous service delivery under normal circumstances and rapid restoration in the event of disruption. Continue reading
Update on mainframe decommissioning
ITS has been actively engaged in moving off the mainframe to other platforms for the past two years, and this process is now approaching completion. Continue reading
Web Conferencing Services
We would like to share information about individual web conferencing services available to the UConn community. Continue reading
HuckyCT High Availability
HuskyCT, our learning management system, is now in a High Availability (HA) configuration. Continue reading
SDLC tools available
Solution Development Life Cycle (SDLC) tools are available to the UConn IT community. Continue reading
Virtualization Service Offerings
ITS has a proposed design for expanding the University’s application virtualization service offerings. Continue reading
Identity Finder Status Update
ITS has temporarily disabled Identity Finder while we finalize the long-range plans for the service.
Re-designed UITS IT Status page
ITS has re-designed the IT Status page.
The purpose of the IT Status page is to communicate the condition of systems and services to our UConn community. Continue reading
HuskyTime student time card system
The HuskyTime student time card system is now available to the university community.
ITS worked closely with UConn Recreation to develop HuskyTime, a streamlined web-based application that allows students to enter their time into an online time card Continue reading
End of semester moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Friday, May 1 through Friday, May 15. Continue reading
Microsoft Lync is becoming Skype for Business
Microsoft is rebranding Lync Online, their enterprise communication tool, as Skype for Business.
Office 365 Microsoft Presentation (4/27)
For faculty and staff interested in learning more about Office 365, ITS and Microsoft are co-hosting a free presentation Continue reading
Reminder: Office 365 migration starts tonight
Reminder: Office 365 Town Hall meeting (4/1)
We would like to remind our IT community that ITS is hosting a town hall meeting to discuss the upcoming migration to Microsoft Office 365 tomorrow, April 1st at 9:00 a.m. in the Dodd Konover Auditorium. Continue reading
Office 365 early migration
We are offering the opportunity to migrate to Office 365 prior to the university-wide deployment scheduled to start at 5:00 pm on April 10th. Continue reading
Reminder: Office 365 Town Hall meeting tomorrow (3/25)
We would like to remind our IT community that ITS is hosting a town hall meeting to discuss the upcoming migration to Microsoft Office 365 tomorrow, March 25th at 9:00 a.m. in the Dodd Konover Auditorium. Continue reading
Revised electronic communication policy
The University has made revisions to the university electronic communication policy that will impact email forwarding.
Office 365 migration update
Below is an update on the upcoming April 10th university migration from our local email and calendar service to Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud service and to share strategies ITS is employing to ensure a smooth transition.
Office 365 Town Hall Meeting
We are inviting members of our IT community to a town hall meeting to discuss the upcoming migration to Microsoft Office 365 and initiate a conversation about support strategies. Continue reading
University email and calendar migration
Faculty and staff who have accounts on the central university email and calendar service, please be aware of the university migration from our local Exchange environment to Microsoft Office 365, currently scheduled to start April 10th. Continue reading
Remote Desktop Gateway
The Remote Desktop Gateway server is an authentication and proxy mechanism used widely by off-site faculty, staff, and students to connect to on-site university computers using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). The University began blocking RDP at the border firewall in 2012 in response to an RDP security weakness. Continue reading
Mainframe decommissioning scheduled for June 30, 2015
The mainframe computer, which UConn has used for over 30 years, was one of the only computing platforms available to the UConn community and has historically been used for administrative, academic, research, and personal computing. ITS has been moving off the mainframe Continue reading
Change management process
ITS is responsible for a broad collection of systems, services, and capabilities that in many different ways, are important to our community. Disruptions will periodically occur as we work to maintain and evolve our infrastructure. ITS has a Change Advisory Board (CAB) that consists of our managers and is tasked with ensuring that substantive changes to IT systems and services follow a standardized process and proceed in a transparent, orderly fashion. This minimizes the risk of outages or other negative impacts to the community. A key step in this process involves communicating effectively and broadly with audiences internal and external to ITS. This crucial step increases awareness among the community of upcoming changes and prompts timely feedback. To achieve our communication goals, ITS is now publishing scheduled changes on the ITS CAB website. This new change calendar gives CAB a mechanism to effectively reach a wider audience and gives constituents more opportunity to surface concerns or to illuminate impacts that may have been overlooked. It also leverages the built-in features of the university events system, such as providing you with the capability to add the CAB calendar to Outlook and subscribe to RSS feeds. ITS is committed to effective collaboration; we believe that our dedicated change calendar will make it easier for us to deliver information and for you to obtain it conveniently via a mechanism of your choice.
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a two-week moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Monday, January 19, through Monday, February 2.
We understand that this time is a critical period for students and faculty as they acclimate to the new semester. ITS will defer changes to systems and services that might have a production impact in order to minimize potential outages during this high-anxiety period. Changes required to respond to emergent situations will be duly evaluated and pursued only if their need is significant.
Institutional support for software
UConn Software, formerly the Software Licensing Group (SLG), has a new website: http://software.uconn.edu. This site lists supported products, provides pertinent policies and procedures, and includes a simple form to standardize requests for the group to consider and review softwareto be licensed.
The university group works in concert with ITS to represent community interests regarding the acquisition, distribution, and customer support of instructional, administrative, and research software products. The core support group identifies common needs and evaluates available software products for broad applicability. As an advisory body to the University CIO, they help ITS align its finite software spend for the best practical benefit to our community while also providing expertise and assistance on a case-by-case basis to customers.
End of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Monday, December 8, through Thursday, December 18.
We understand that this time of year is a critical period with students and faculty trying to meet end of semester obligations. ITS will defer changes to systems and services that might have a production impact in order to minimize potential outages during this high-anxiety period. Changes required to respond to emergent situations will be duly evaluated and pursued only if their need is significant.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have comments, questions, or concerns.
Office 365 design completed
ITS has completed a design for the university Microsoft Office 365 initiative and would like to ask for any final feedback.
Microsoft Office 365 is an organized collection of cloud-based business productivity technologies that integrates enhanced communication and collaboration tools. It is well aligned towards individuals and their ability to personally leverage technology. Adoption of this architecture represents a departure from the traditional way IT is centrally delivered at the University. For this reason, ITS has pursued this project methodically and requested feedback throughout the process to ensure that the end product would be robust and also effectively meet the diverse needs of our constituents. We have now completed a design, which is the outcome of a rigorous internal and external vetting process. You can review the design documentation on our Microsoft Office 365 website: http://office365.uconn.edu/. As we begin implementation planning, we ask that you send any final feedback to Josh Boggs at josh.boggis@uconn.edu. Once we complete the implementation and transition project plan, we will no longer be seeking input on the des
Changes to UITS Help Center
The ITS Technology Support Center, located in the Math-Science Building M037 and on the first floor (Homer Commons) of the Homer Babbidge Library, provides first contact support and assistance to the university community for the wide variety of services provided by the organization. Our services and their associated support have historically had community centric differences based on major group affiliation (i.e., faculty, staff or student). Unfortunately, this resulted in varied customer experiences and confusion depending on how individuals approached the organization. Based on feedback from faculty, staff, and students, ITS restructured our Technology Support Center at the beginning of the semester to include a mix of HuskyTech student employees and full-time staff. This was done so that all members of our community, regardless of affiliation, would have consistent support options and, more importantly, a high-quality customer experience. These changes have allowed ITS to pursue process and resource efficiency goals while better meeting the individual needs and expectations of our customers.
The past months have validated the preliminary changes, and with your assistance, we are committed to continued development of the Technology Support Center. Your support and feedback remains key to its successful evolution, and we welcome any insights or observations you might share. Please contact Pat Meinweiser with comments, questions, or concerns.
Student Administration Upgrades
ITS has implemented selected redesigns of the Student Administration (SA) System to address structural problems that resulted in service disruptions during the registration process.
The SA system is a hub for student information and activity and is widely used by faculty, students, staff, and alumni. They experienced numerous problems with login, authorization, kick-outs, and browser incompatibility. These service issues were caused by firewall performance, browser connection, and application software issues. ITS engineered network changes to increase reliability and performance and deployed a new load balancing infrastructure to improve the interaction between client browsers and the SA application. These fixes were implemented at the beginning of October, and the peak registration cycle has now concluded without the raft of service calls that occurred at the beginning of the semester. ITS will continue to assess the infrastructure and to make selected changes and upgrades to improve the experience of our community.
End of life operating systems
ITS is beginning a series of infrastructure enhancements that may require updating end-of-life (EOL) operating systems on devices that are connected to the network.
ITS announced this past spring and throughout the summer that Windows XP and Mac OS 10.7 were end of life and would no longer be supported. Older operating systems are not maintained by the vendor and are increasingly difficult to operate in our environment. We will offer possible workarounds where these exist, but ITS cannot avoid important maintenance in deference to devices with unsupported operating systems. Unfortunately, such equipment will be increasingly unable to utilize network services over time.
We will be happy to explore options with you. Please do not hesitate to contact us for information and assistance.
IBM Forms Experience Builder
ITS is expanding its enterprise workflow services by offering web form development with IBM Forms Experience Builder (FEB).
The University currently uses many paper-based workflow processes, which can be both slow and inefficient. Automating these processes by creating electronic workflows using traditional programming languages, however, is both difficult and time consuming. FEB is a tool designed specifically to develop and deploy data-centric web form applications. It is simpler to use and far faster from concept to production than older approaches. With FEB, the Applications and Technology Solutions (ATS) group can produce better results in less time (less cost) and even add advanced functionality such as workflow stages or the ability to track and analyze results.
Additional information about FEB is available at the following location: https://its.uconn.edu/. Requests for form development can be sent to http://serviceit.uconn.edu/.
VPN Update
The upgraded and expanded Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, deployed on September 15th, have replaced the old VPN portal. On October 6th the old system, vpn.uconn.edu, will no longer be available.
The new VPN portal is accessible via the Web at https://sslvpn.uconn.edu and via client software for OS X, Windows, iOS, and Android devices. When you transition to the new VPN services, be aware that you will need to re-create your personal bookmarks and that clients receive different IP addresses than the legacy system.
Additional information is available at the following location: http://remoteaccess.uconn.edu.
Update on the university Microsoft Office 365 initiative
ITS is now in the design phase of the Microsoft Office 365 initiative. In the research phase, we received significant positive feedback with some questions and concerns from our UConn IT community. Using this information, we produced a tentative design that was reviewed by the ITS IT Technical Partners governance body. The architecture is now at a point where we have begun preliminary planning for an implementation.
ITS is searching for volunteers to test Office 365 and provide us with feedback about their experience. Testers will be given a temporary account and the opportunity to get an early look at the service. If you would like to participate, send us a message at365@uconn.edu with your name, netID, contact information, and position within the University. Information about the service and the project is available at http://office365.uconn.edu.
We appreciate your patience and support as ITS continues to make progress on improving services for our faculty and staff.
Updated and upgraded VPN service
ITS will deploy an updated and upgraded Virtual Private Network (VPN) service on September 15th.
VPN services have been utilized historically to provide authenticated access to the university network from remote locations and thereby allow customers to safely and securely utilize certain restricted services from outside the university. Juniper has stopped providing support for the existing hardware, and this has produced numerous problems for our community when they use the old access client. The new infrastructure will be current, fully supported, and consistent with contemporary approaches and re-architected to double its network bandwidth. Web access will be available, but there are also clients for iOS, Android OS, Windows, and OS X. We are deploying the infrastructure in a high availability configuration at two disparate locations to provide a more robust experience than the current implementation.
Additional information is available at the following location: http://remoteaccess.uconn.edu.
Start of Semester Moratorium
ITS will have a three-week moratorium on non-emergency network and system changes starting Monday, August 18, through Sunday, September 7.
We understand that the start of the fall semester is a critical period for students and faculty as they acclimate to the new school year. ITS will defer changes to systems and services that might have a production impact in order to minimize potential outages during this high-anxiety period. Changes required to respond to emergent situations will be duly evaluated and pursued only if their need is significant.
Network connection enhancements
Update, 1/20/2015: project delayed due to contract negotiations
ITS has procured the installation of dedicated fiber connections from the Torrington and Avery Point regional campuses to the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), a university and state-run regional network provider. These connections, similar to the kind recently installed to support the extension centers in Tolland and Norwich, will permit 1Gbs connectivity between the UConn Storrs campus, Torrington campus, Avery Point campus, some additional extension offices, and the Litchfield County Extension Center. Existing connectivity to the Torrington and Avery Point campuses is currently limited to 10Mbps, which is inadequate to meet either the current and projected campus needs of researchers, teachers, learners, staff, and guests. The greatly enhanced connections are scheduled to be live during UConn’s Winter Recess.
DNS/DHCP administration delegation
You may be used to requesting a DNS hostname from ITS, but did you know that we can give schools, departments, and colleges the authority to manage their name spaces and IP networks?
ITS maintains an integrated Domain Name System (DNS), a central repository for mapping Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP), a central service that assigns IP address requests and parameters required for a device to connect to a network. With delegated administration of your DNS/DHCP, you have more control over your forward and reverse DNS zones, DHCP scopes and ranges, and ability to supply/remove fixed addresses and name records. The integration of DNS/DHCP also allows you to dynamically configure network parameters for devices, like printers, which require a permanent IP address assignment and domain name.
If you would like additional information about this capability, please contact Jeff Farese, Network Design and Engineering, at Jeffrey.Farese@uconn.edu.
Microsoft Office 365
ITS has launched an initiative to explore a Microsoft Office 365 service offering for the University of Connecticut.
Microsoft Office 365 has the potential to enhance individual productivity and facilitate collaboration. It would provide significantly larger mailboxes, Office sharing and interaction tools, text and video chat, one terabyte of personal cloud storage, and other useful features. We are currently in the research phase of the project and will reach out to request your feedback throughout the process. Your insight and perspective will be critical to the successful development of an efficient design that maximizes the service potential for our community and an effective implementation plan that minimizes disruption during transition.
University Exchange Update
ITS and the Law School have combined our mail and calendar environments.
The university Exchange environment was intended to facilitate interaction and collaboration across our community. Design choices and competing systems have historically made this difficult. Over the past year, ITS has evolved the central service based on direct feedback from our IT partners. For example, ITS and UConn Health unified our address books to simplify cross-organization scheduling. This change was designed to increase usefulness and to encourage broader institutional adoption of the central service. Migrating the Law School email and calendar system to our central environment benefits both the Law School and the University. ITS will continue to improve our email and calendar service and will work with units to integrate capabilities or even combine systems.
UITS Printing Services to End
As of June 30, 2014, ITS will no longer provide print services from the mainframe. In conjunction with the Mainframe Decommissioning Project and the University’s green initiatives, all print jobs processed on the mainframe will be directed to Control-D, an online report management tool that is currently in use by many areas.
Control-D provides the option to view reports online and print all or specific selections of the report. Users will have the option to print directly from personal computers as they do today or through UConn’s Design & Document Production Center.
If you have an existing job scheduled that produces a report and have not been contacted by ITS to determine your report distribution requirements please email us at ITS.mainframe@uconn.edu or call Diana O’Donnell at 860-486-1413.
UITS Supports Development of Research-related Mobile Apps
ITS Mobile Solutions has hired a Graduate Assistant (GA) to support development of research-related mobile applications for faculty, a change that extends service to researchers and aligns with the academic mission of the University.
Faculty have been requesting support for mobile app development and while the demand has grown, it has remained inadequate to generate sufficient revenue to offset the expense of a dedicated position. We recognized that research teams need this support now and that the institution would be best served by creating a position. ITS will recover a portion of the operating expense from clients through hourly billing, and we will subsidize the remaining shortfall. For more information and to submit a development request, visit http://mobile.uconn.edu.
New Data Service Plan
ITS has added a data service option to university-owned iPads and laptops for faculty and staff who are eligible for university cellular services.
ITS Cellular Services has long supported data service and hotspot capabilities for university-owned smartphones and other dedicated hotspot devices. Hotspot allows a device to share its cellular data capabilities with a collection of other devices in its vicinity. This is not necessarily the highest performing or most convenient approach, but it is often effective and economical for modest, infrequent sharing. We have received feedback that it often does not adequately address other relevant use cases. Hotspots will continue to be supported, but the ability to add cellular data plans directly to other university-owned devices will allow the community to select mobile services that better meet their needs.
General information about mobile services and specific information about the features and rates can be obtained by navigating to www.cellular.uconn.edu and clicking on Types of Services.
Licensing Agreement for Adobe Creative Cloud
ITS has procured Adobe Creative Cloud for students as both a download and through SkyBox.
Adobe Creative Cloud is a bundle of the most popular Adobe products (e.g., Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, etc.) obtained through an annual leasing agreement. The normal institutional model for this Adobe bundle consists of an unlimited enterprise license for all faculty and staff with student licensing obtained as a fixed quantity add-on to the base agreement. Adobe has not historically supported making these student licenses usable through virtualized environments. These conditions were not a match for our needs at UConn, where not enough faculty and staff require the software to justify an enterprise site license and providing the software on SkyBox, the UConn virtualized desktop environment, is key to maximizing student access. Working closely with university purchasing and leveraging perspective and information from the UConn technical community, ITS broke new ground with Adobe to negotiate an independent fixed license pool for students with approval to deliver it through SkyBox. These licensing terms are unprecedented and will significantly increase student access to the software at a nationally competitive price. Additional details about the Adobe Creative Cloud bundle will be made broadly available before the start of the fall semester.
Upgrades Completed on Data Center
ITS performed successful upgrades to the data center on Saturday, May 31, 2014. During the planned outage, ITS infrastructure staff installed new equipment and performed preventative maintenance. Although some services were disrupted during the outage, access remained to the Network, e-mail, and UConn websites.
Thank you for your patience during the outage. The upgrades are part of a plan to ensure a robust infrastructure that enhances the performance and stability of ITS systems and services.
If you have any questions, please contact the ITS Technology Support Center at serviceit.uconn.edu.
High Availability During Shut down
ITS has implemented infrastructure changes to permit high availability capabilities for our services.
Contemporary IT system and service robustness is best accomplished through a three tier model consisting of 1) effective design and professional practices 2) high availability through infrastructure and operating diversity 3) disaster recovery as an insurance strategy using an external vendor specialist. The first strategy has been our historical approach and the organization is actively pursuing the third strategy. ITS has added high availability capability by implementing custom network connectivity between our primary data center in Gant and our secondary machine room in HBL. This multi-site data center capability allows us to deliver virtualized services from two independent locations as a single extended offering.
Our primary data center in Gant will undergo disruptive upgrades to both power and environmentals this weekend that will result in a 12-18 hour loss of services from this location. By diversifying a number of our generically consumed services between our paired data centers using our new high availability infrastructure, UTIS will be maintaining the following services without substantive interruption during the upgrades to the Gant data center.
- Networking (wired and wireless)
- Email (Microsoft Exchange)
- Authentication (NetID, AD, Radius, CAS, etc)
- Departmental web content management (Aurora)
- University core websites (alert, it status, today, uconn)
Delivery from the secondary HBL location will begin almost immediately as the primary delivery location is shutdown. Any disruption of these services during failover will be extremely brief and should be virtually unnoticed. Outages have an increasingly disruptive impact on our community and we will continue to pursue high availability as well as other architectural and operational strategies to improve the performance and stability of ITS systems and services.
Spam Filter Improvements
ITS has increased the sensitivity of the UCONN email spam filters to more effectively prevent the delivery of unwanted messages.
The university email challenge has always been to correctly identify and prevent the delivery of unwanted messages without misidentifying and blocking wanted messages. Recent feedback from our community indicated that the system was permitting the delivery of too much spam. ITS carefully assessed the service configuration and implemented adjustments this morning to improve its filtering performance. Our tests indicate that this will safely reduce spam delivery by approximately 20%.
Please do not hesitate to contact us or the ITS Technology Support Center if you have questions or concerns or if you believe that your email is being blocked incorrectly.
Access to the University Network Monitoring System
ITS has enabled guest access to WhatsUp, the university network monitoring system.
ITS network technicians utilize WhatsUp to monitor the current status of more than 3,000 network devices in our data network. This tool is not designed or intended to be a generally consumed service at the University, but it is possible that it might be useful for other IT professionals. We have enabled read-only access to WhatsUp from any campus network. You may login using “guest” as both the username and password. Off campus access to this resource requires use of the University VPN service.
Changes to Wait Time on the UITS Support Phone
The six minute limit on ITS Technology Support Center phone system hold times has been discontinued.
This limit was originally created to address feedback pertaining to long holds, but it has become clear that it is not the optimal way to deal with this issue and it has the unintended side effect of forcibly disconnecting people who might have preferred to continue holding. ITS wants to make it easier for the community to access help resources, and so callers on hold will be periodically prompted with three options:
- Leave a message
- Create a ticket through ServiceIT
- Continue to hold
ITS will continue our review of help desk processes to increase call throughput, but in the interim we believe that the range of options above will better meet the different needs of individual callers.
End of Semester Moratorium
There will be a two-week ITS moratorium on network and system changes starting today, Friday, May 2, through Friday, May 16.
We understand that this time of year is a critical period with students and faculty trying to meet end of semester obligations. ITS has imposed significant restrictions on changes to systems and services that might have a production impact in order to minimize potential outages during this high anxiety period. Changes required to respond to emergent situations will be duly evaluated and pursued only if their need is significant.
Contact Information Now Available for All UITS Employees
There are a number of general phone and email contact points that provide access to ITS groups and / or services. When submitting a help or service request, we encourage everyone to contact the organization through either the Technology Support Center or one of the local Service Areas. However, we have received feedback that these mechanisms are not always helpful when trying to contact specific individuals. Now we’re changing that.
ITS is now aggressively ensuring that individual phone numbers and email addresses will be properly available in the University’s online phone book. We will also maintain a staff directory, as we want the community to be able to easily contact us at both the organizational and individual level for all of their IT needs.
UITS Adds Authenticated SMTP To Its Email Repertoire
ITS has added authentication support to its Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server, resulting in more flexibility and convenience for SMTP users.
Customers that utilize Outlook and Exchange for email already take advantage of authenticated access for outgoing emails, but our generally available SMTP server has not historically supported authenticated access. A consequence of this is that ITS blocks access from off-campus locations to the SMTP server when sending emails. This limitation has required laptops that access the SMTP server directly from off-campus locations to either have a separate configuration using a different SMTP server or to utilize the University’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) when sending email. Enabling authentication capabilities on the SMTP server allows ITS to fully support direct access to the SMTP server from areas outside of our network, limiting complexity and potentially reducing the support needs of our community.
Mail clients configured to utilize smtp.uconn.edu directly can use SMTP authentication through either SSL on port 465 or STARTTLS on port 587. The authentication credentials are simply your NetID and password. Outlook or other clients that use Exchange directly will not require reconfiguration and adjustment – they will simply continue to operate as they do now.
For assistance on configuring ports for SMTP Authentication, users can contact the ITS Technology Support Center by submitting a ticket at http://serviceit.uconn.edu.
UITS Purchases InCommon Certificate Service
ITS has procured an InCommon Certificate Service for the University in response to the recent Heartbleed exploit in the OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This service allows us to generate, for all UConn Domains, an unlimited number of certificates (e.g., SSL, extended validation, client, and code signing) that are validated by a trusted Certificate Authority.
Technical staff across the Institution aggressively responded to the recent Heartbleed exploit and updated University servers. Heartbleed attacked an OpenSSL vulnerability in order to obtain private data. It is possible that some certificates were compromised and it would be wise to replace any that might have been exposed. You may replace your certificates at no departmental cost by using the ITS fully subsidized InCommon Certificate Service.
Additional information on the new service can be found at https://its.uconn.edu/ssl-certificate-service/.
UITS Discontinues SafeConnect
The SafeConnect environment has provided a number of operating and management benefits to the university. It has, however, also generated a significant number of support problems for the community. ITS recently deployed a new version of the environment. It did not adequately address the long-standing support challenges and, after careful consideration of the product and based on direct feedback from the community, it has been permanently disabled. ITS will pursue other, less intrusive, approaches to replace the capabilities that SafeConnect previously provided.
The SafeConnect client that is currently installed on computers will no longer prevent access to the university network and it may be uninstalled at your convenience. If no action is taken, it will automatically uninstall itself after approximately six months of inactivity.
New IT Governance Structure
The IT Partners program is a streamlined governance structure consisting of three standing committees that are organized to provide clear roles, to prevent overlapping effort, and to align participants to focus areas. They provide oversight of University Information Technology and Services (ITS) systems and services and are advisory to the University CIO regarding the efficacy of existing or proposed central IT initiatives.
View the governance structure on the IT Strategy website at itstrategy.uconn.edu/governance-structure.
HuskyTech Joining UITS
The following is an announcement from the CIO.
Colleagues,
I am contacting you to provide an update on the ongoing discussions between ITS and SAIT regarding opportunities for integration. The goal of these discussions has been to provide the best practical outcome for the community, and it has become clear that HuskyTech’s excellent service and support to the student community would be complimentary to other ITS support services. Effective March 31, 2014, HuskyTech will report to Pat Meinweiser. Please join me in welcoming this enthusiastic and effective group to the ITS family.
As always, you are encouraged to contact me if you have questions or concerns.
Regards.
Michael.
—
Michael R. Mundrane, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Connecticut
Phone: 860.486.1777