noticeboard.ru.ac.za

During the Tuesday, February 3rd maintenance window, maintenance work affecting a number of services will occur, starting at 5:30 PM and being completed before midnight. The following will occur:

• Webmail: the webmail software will receive a major update. The webmail site will be unavailable for between one to four hours. The new site has a completely new look. A preview of the new login page is available. Note that it will still be at https://webmail.ru.ac.za/, and use security authenticated by DigiCert. Do not log in to any site which claims to be Rhodes Webmail but doesn't match those criteria.
• DHCP service: the software which allocates IP addresses to devices on the campus network will be updated. No noticeable outage is expected, but in the event of unforeseen problems, devices which are rebooted or connected to the network while the problem exists may be unable to all network services until the problem is resolved.
• VPN service: software on the router which provides VPN services will be updated. An outage of up to an hour is expected.
• Server software updates: software on the servers which provide the following services will be updated, resulting in outages of up to 20 minutes per server:
  
  • DNS
  • DHCP
  • NTP
  • RT
  • Web proxies
  • Registration system
  • Incoming e-mail
  • Outgoing e-mail
  • E-mail mailboxes
  • Webmail
  • Mailing lists
  • SMS
  • Apple Software Update Server
  • Provisioning (web proxy autodiscovery, telephone provisioning)
  • Wi-Fi and VPN authentication
  • CHERTL Evaluation Assistant
  • Network graphs
  • Guest network access
  • Network monitoring
  • RU Single Sign-on
  • Terminal Four content management system
• Firewalls: software on the firewalls which connect the Internet to the campus, SEALS and public networks will be updated. As the firewalls operate as a redundant pair, no noticeable outages are expected during this maintenance.

This maintenance work is being undertaken in the ITSC-approved scheduled maintenance window. More information about maintenance windows and maintenance periods.

A late addition to the list of work for the maintenance window:

• PBX failover testing: tests will be conducted on the PBX system to ensure that transfer to the backup components of the system is operating correctly. No interruption is expected. However, from past experience, we expect that a small number of phones around campus will need to be restarted (unplugged and plugged back in) before they can receive and place calls again.

There is a known issue with the webmail service at the moment: not all folders are being shown on the left-hand side. We are working to identify the cause and find a solution.

In order to return to your inbox, you can click the "Mail" link at the top.

The problem with listing folders in webmail should be fixed now. Webmail will now display all folders within your mailbox.