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2004 Technology Update Archives
A schedule of known infrastructure changes is cataloged here for use by information technology consultants on campus. The current technology update schedule can be found at www.princeton.edu/techupdates.
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November 2004: DeSC Windows XP Migration
Project
The Desktop System Council has approved the distribution of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 for the newer standard computers participating in the DeSC environment. (Details...) -
October 2004: Netscape 4 Roaming Service to be terminated
Oct. 27
The ability for users to store their e-mail address book and browser bookmarks on a server and "roam" to these personal files was a feature exclusive to Netscape Communicator. Currently, the only client that can make use of this service is Netscape Communicator versions 4.5 or 4.7x, but NOT Netscape version 7. As such, the Netscape Roaming Service is currently a deprecated service and OIT has scheduled a termination of October 27, 2004. (Details...) -
October 2004: IMAP E-mail servers to upgrade; Oct. 23rd
e-mail outage
On October 23, 2004, there will be a full day e-mail outage from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. as OIT continues a major project to upgrade the Standard IMAP E-mail infrastructure at Princeton. The upgrade procedure will necessitate an extended e-mail outage. OIT is aware of the mission-critical nature of e-mail, and for this reason the first Saturday of Fall Recess was chosen to proceed with the upgrade. Staff assigned to this project will install and configure the new Messaging Server software and move all user mailboxes to the new servers on Saturday, October 23, 2004 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Should the tasks involved take less time, please be advised that e-mail sending and receiving will be restored as soon as is humanly possible. (Details... ) -
September 2004: 64bit Unix Computing: Upgrade to the public
Unix computing environment
To accommodate the needs of those members of the Princeton community who run computationally intensive jobs using commercial software, OIT is announcing a new 64-bit Unix computing service that becomes available on September 1st. Three statistical packages, SAS, Stata, and DBMS/Copy, will move from the Arizona servers to the new 64-bit computing server, tombstone, on September 1st. Additionally, default versions of software available on OIT's servers and via the Princeton Software Repository are updated, including SAS, Matlab, and Maple.
The new 64-bit computationally intensive environment is a registered service, so to continue to have access to these packages, you will need to register online (you will be prompted for your University netID and LDAP password). (Details... ) -
August 2004: NAS migration continues with WinFS home
directories
On August 28th, OIT will continue with the migration project incorporating files and folders onto the NAS Central File Server by moving personal folders on WinFS. Those affected will receive a personal e-mail message notifying them of this update. Currently, a number of users have a personal folder on the server WinFS. Most times, files in that folder are shown to the user as the H: drive.
On the morning of Saturday 8/28/2004, user home directories currently residing on WINFS will be migrated to the new OIT central file server known as FILES. All central login script drive mappings will be updated accordingly. For example, H: drives will be mapped to the new location. Locally persistent drive mappings to WINFS home directories will also be updated via a login script program. This change will not affect any files or folders that departments currently share on WinFS. The departmentally shared files in the COMMON folder that are often accessed on an M: drive will not be affected.
The 2 paths to user home directories illustrated below will no longer be accessible:
\\winfs\HOME\<netID>
\\winfs\VOLx\<Dept>\HOME\<netID>
Access to the migrated filespace will be through the path: \\files\<NetID>
Drive mappings will continue to work as they did previously. They are being remapped to reflect the new file location. Existing shared departmental file space will continue to reside on WINFS. This space is commonly referred to as the M: drive and normally is mapped to a path similar to the following: \\winfs\VOLx\<Dept>\COMMON. This space is unaffected by the current migration. More information regarding the NAS Central File Server can be found at: www.princeton.edu/nas . -
August 2004: OIT Unix server update on August
31
OIT will be updating the Unix servers (the arizona and hats computers). If you have been using your Unix account successfully without any attention to your current Unix shell, you can continue to do so without concern about this update. Your account will continue to function without any changes. On August 31, all accounts with shells provided today from the /usr/princeton/bin directory will be automatically changed to an updated version of the same shell provided by the Operating System (OS). For example, if your shell today is /usr/princeton/bin/tcsh, your shell after the update will be /bin/tcsh. Those users effected by this change are receiving a direct e-mail notification from the OIT Unix Group; the change should be transparent and no action needs to be taken. Should you wish to update your shell prior to the update on August 31, a self-service web page is available at:
,https://sweb.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/Shell/nview.pl
On this web page you can select either the updated version of your current shell or an entirely new shell. -
August 2004: OIT reduces the number of password systems
used by deactivating NIS passwords
OIT will be reducing the number of password systems used by deactivating NIS passwords. When NIS passwords are deactivated on Wednesday, August 4, you will no longer log into the "arizonas" and "hats" servers with your NIS password when setting up a terminal session using telnet or secure shell (SSH), or when transferring files to or from those systems using FTP and Secure FTP. Instead of using your old NIS password, use your LDAP password, the one that is commonly used to access University web-based applications such as WebMail and Blackboard. Once you’ve logged in, you can continue to work as you always have. See kb.princeton.edu/9677 for more information. -
August 2004: OIT moving towards NAS (Network Attached Storage)
topology for file storage
The Enterprise Infrastructure Services group of OIT is in the process of installing a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device in order to consolidate and unify file services provided by the Unix and Windows Systems groups. A NAS device is simply defined as a file-storage device that is accessed through a network that will enable the consolidation of data and simplify data management. For more information, see www.princeton.edu/files. -
July 2004: Wireless network expansion
In response to increased demand for wireless Internet access, OIT is expanding the Princeton wireless network to accommodate the growing number of wireless clients. Wireless IP addresses will be expanded to provide concurrent connections for 8,000 wireless devices. This will enable more handheld devices, laptops, and PDAs to have wireless connectivity on campus. -
July 2004: Hats Linux servers upgrade to Redhat
3.0
The three servers that comprise the hats computing cluster will be upgraded from the now unsupported Redhat 9 to Redhat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0 over a two day period starting July 29, 2004. At any given time two servers will be available for use during this period. To see the features of the new operating system as well as other Enterprise Linux whitepapers please visit RedHat's web site at: http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/whitepapers -
July 2004: Change My Info provides easy access
to University info
The new Change My Info web page provides a convenient and easy access method to the various methods your information in University records can be changed. From the Change My Info web page, links can be found to change your University information, personal information, and personal contact information within University records. See www.princeton.edu/myinfo for more information. -
July 2004: LDAP server upgrades for higher
availability
OIT is upgrading the current LDAP "Directory" servers to new, high performance, load-balanced, redundant servers. This significant enhancement to the LDAP infrastructure will result in faster and more effective authentication services that many applications (particularly e-mail clients) use to resolve directory addresses. OIT would like this process to be as transparent as possible to the end users. -
May 2004: New Princeton login script ensures you have
antivirus software
As of Friday, April 9, the Princeton Domain login script will check that your computer has Symantec AntiVirus installed in the default location and, if Symantec (or its predecessor, Norton) is on the computer, run the computer's Live Update program in the background. See www.princeton.edu/antivirus for more information. -
May 2004: Windows Critical Updates: Now automatic for
students
Beginning on Wednesday, May 5th, Windows computers in the undergraduate class groups (OUs) within the Princeton Windows Domain will get their Windows Critical Updates through their domain log in. -
April 2004: PeopleSoft Financials Upgrade
to version 8.4
The PeopleSoft Financials application will be upgraded to the new version (8.4). This change will require all users of Financials applications to begin using the web-based facility brought about in this upgrade. -
April 2004: E-Mail Client standard changing from Netscape
to Outlook XP
To enhance e-mail client usability (Netscape's market share, support from the vendor and usability is dwindling
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February 2004: NIS Password List restricted
To further secure the campus' password environment, the NIS password list will no longer be useable for authentication purposes, except for direct Unix system authentication. -
January 2004: OnTime Server and Client
Upgrade
To be in line with the vendor's recommended version, the OnTime server (and connecting clients) will be upgraded. All clients that were installed to be run over the network will be updated automatically (no intervention necessary); clients that were installed on the local workstation will need to be re-installed with the newer version. Note: All DeSC machines run their OnTime client over the network so will need no intervention. -
January 2004: Reminder to users to use SSH to access OIT
Unix servers
Telnet is an Internet protocol that is used to connect to a remote system. To telnet is to establish a command line session with a remote computer, such as the arizona and hats Unix clusters at Princeton. Most operating systems such as Windows and Unix come with a built-in program that uses this protocol, but these versions are not secure and rapidly losing favor to applications that will encrypt login passwords and commands as you work over the Internet. OIT strongly recommends using SSH as a secure alternative to Telnet. For more information on SSH please see kb.princeton.edu/4104.
Archived technology updates are also cataloged, beginning June, 2003.
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E-mail tech-updates@princeton.edu to have a change included in this list.
Last Updated:Monday January 19 2009