CX Server Hardware Upgrade
Webster University and Information Technology are working on an initiative to upgrade the CX system hardware infrastructure. The current CX server is over eight years old and at risk for system failure. The hardware chosen for the upgrade utilizes newer, Itanium processor technology which provides a safer, more reliable environment for data. Over the course of a two month period, various maintenance will occur. Throughout this process, IT will keep the Webster community informed. All updates will be posted on this page.Upgrade Completed - Thanks to All Who Contributed!
With the last migration task finalized Saturday, November 10, the CX (CARS) hardware upgrade has been successfully completed. Information Technology would like to thank everyone who helped make the upgrade a success. Due to the well-coordinated efforts of individuals throughout the University, CX remained in service with no unplanned interruptions to business operations since the project began in mid-September.
Final Migration a Success
Information Technology is pleased to announce that Production CX (CARS) has been successfully migrated to the new hardware. The project team, including IT staff, Jenzabar and other vendor support, and a team of testers from across the University, worked through the weekend to move all CX data and system components to the new environment and to validate operation of CX and integration with other systems. CX is now fully operational.
During the migration, IT identified an integration issue related to how CX communicates with the server that houses Academic Services (i.e. course registration, grade entry, etc.). To proceed with migration and keep the upgrade on schedule, the team established a work-around that provides full functionality today. Full resolution of the issue requires some back-end work on the Academic Services server. Part of this work was completed on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The remaining work will take place on Saturday, Nov. 10 from noon to midnight CST. During this time, Faculty & Student Academic Services will be unavailable.
Happily, few other CX issues have been reported thus far. If you or anyone in your department should encounter an issue, please submit it via a work order. You may also report incidents to the IT Service Desk.
The stabilization period will continue for an additional two weeks to isolate any final issues that might be identified in CX. An additional stabilization period will be in effect November 27 through December 7 when IT implements CX SMO 12925, a technical maintenance update which is a prerequisite for year-end processing updates.
User-Acceptance Testing
User-acceptance testing was successfully completed on October 26. Teams from over forty departments and campuses tested CX on the new hardware and proved its reliability. They identified approximately forty issues of which only two remain outstanding.The stabilization period will continue for an additional two weeks to isolate any issues that might be identified in the new system after implementation.
Timeline
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