2.4 Upgrade Notice

TechNews Announcement

http://technews.ucdavis.edu/news2.cfm?id=1492

SmartSite, the new learning management and collaboration system at UC Davis, will shut down for part of a weekend in June while its software is upgraded.

The outage will start at midnight on Friday, June 22, and end by noon on Sunday, June 24, wrote SmartSite Program Manager Kirk Alexander in an email to colleagues this week.

In less than four months, SmartSite officially becomes the preferred campus system for managing classes online, although its tools are handy for a wide range of uses. It has been tested as a pilot program on campus since early 2006, and more than 8,600 people have used it so far.

"In preparation for the fall launch, the developers must upgrade the entire SmartSite environment to the latest version," Alexander wrote. Users who try to access SmartSite during the outage will see a "down for maintenance" notice with a link to the campus systems status page for more information.

"The upgraded version will include a significant number of fixes and improvements to most tools," Alexander said, but "the overall look and feel of SmartSite will not change."

Send questions about the upgrade, or about SmartSite in general, to smartsite-help@ucdavis.edu or call (530) 754-HELP. For more about SmartSite, including an overview of tools, features, potential uses, and the launch this fall, click here; visit the "Support and Training" section to read about upcoming SmartSite workshops and demonstrations.

Message of the Day

In preparation for the fall campus launch of SmartSite, the developers must upgrade the entire SmartSite environment to the latest version. A significant window of server downtime is required, during which the campus community will not be able to access sites, data, tools or features within the SmartSite system. The upgrade window will begin at midnight on Friday, June 22 and end no later than noon on Sunday, June 24. For more information about the upgrade, please go to TechNews

Email sent to: smartsite-issues@ucdavis.edu

Colleagues,

As a reminder, SmartSite will be unavailable this weekend, June 23 and
24th, due to a system upgrade.

Event:
Upgrade to latest version of SmartSite software

When:
Beginning at midnight on Friday, June 22
Completing no later than noon on Sunday, June 24

Explanation of event:
The launch of SmartSite as the new learning management and collaboration
system for UC Davis is set for the beginning of fall 2007. In
preparation for the fall launch, the developers must upgrade the entire
SmartSite environment to the latest version.

During the event:
A significant window of server downtime is required, during which the
campus community will not be able to access sites, data, tools or
features within the SmartSite system. The window will begin at midnight
on Friday, June 22 and end no later than noon on Sunday, June 24. If
community members try to access SmartSite during this window, they will
see a 'Down for Maintenance' page with a link to the campus systems
status page which will provide more current SmartSite status
information.

After the event:
The overall look and feel of SmartSite will not change. However the
upgraded version will include a significant number of fixes and
improvements to most tools. It will include enhanced core tools such as
Messages, Forums (as two separate tools) and Post'em. There will be a
new and more efficient Chat tool, and community members will have the
ability to create their own sites. Improved and updated Help content and
a new Podcast tool will also be added.

Help and questions:
While we will take the greatest care to ensure that the upgrade runs
smoothly, there is always the possibility of occasional unexpected
behavior of the system on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Please
contact us through our IT Express support team at smartsite-help@ucdavis.edu or (530) 754-HELP if you have questions about
this upgrade or about SmartSite in general.

For more information about SmartSite, including an overview of tools,
features, potential uses, and the fall 2007 launch, please see http://smartsite.ucdavis.edu. In the Support & Training section you will also
find information about upcoming SmartSite workshops, presentations, and
demonstrations.

Regards,

Kirk Alexander
SmartSite Program Manager

2.4 Upgrade Status Announcement on status.ucdavis.edu

System Upgrade: SmartSite Unavailable June 23-24
In preparation for the fall campus launch of SmartSite, the developers must upgrade the entire SmartSite environment to the latest version. A significant window of server downtime is required, during which the campus community will not be able to access sites, data, tools or features within the SmartSite system. The upgrade window will begin at midnight of Friday, June 22 and end no later than noon on Sunday, June 24. For more information about the upgrade, please read the complete announcement at TechNews.