Some servers offline due to security certificate "revoked"

Around 5:15 we started seeing error messages when trying to process LDAP logins to our servers. The error says the Security Certificate is "revoked." We are investigating the problem right now and trying to find a solution. The cause is unknown, but may be an issue with the security certificate issuer, which would be a really big problem.

More updates here as we find them.

Skyward Windows Not Visible with Google Chrome 18

Skyward Critical Issue

Skyward Windows Not Visible with Google Chrome 18

Who is affected by this mailing?
Districts that use the Google Chrome browser with the Skyward Web Product and have updated to Google Chrome version 18. 

What is the issue?Users that are running Google Chrome 18, which was released last week, may experience issues where new windows in the Skyward Web Product are not displaying correctly.  The new Skyward windows are opening at a size that cannot be viewed.  The new window displays in the taskbar, but is not immediately viewable. How do I correct the problem?
Skyward is creating a work around to the Google Chrome issue that will be included in Addendum9 of the February 2012 Release, which is scheduled to be posted on Wednesday, April 4th.

Please note that the Skyward work around may not correct the issue in all areas. 

Until Addendum9 is posted, users can manually work around the issue by right clicking the window in the taskbar and choosing Maximize to display the window.  Another option would be to use a different Web browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox.

Thank you,
Skyward Support Staff

Internet Traffic Jam

We occasionally get complaints about slow Internet speeds. As more services move to the web, Internet usage increases. Here is a graph showing the growth of the district's Internet connection speed over the past eight years.

Our current connection speed is 130Mbps.
Although we have upgraded our bandwidth significantly over the past few years, it isn't possible to provide the same amount of capacity that people are accustomed to from a home broadband connection.

Here's a comparison:

Home Internet speed: 10 Mbps
# of computers: 3
# of other Internet-capable devices: 2 (phones)
Internet capacity per device: 2 Mbps

District Internet speed: 130 Mbps
# of computers: 1600
# of other Internet-capable devices: 600
Internet capacity per device: 0.059 Mbps

An additional problem is that our network security server has trouble handling this amount of bandwidth. The IT department has been researching and evaluating other technological solutions to this, such as replacing our network bandwidth manager, requiring all users to log on before accessing the Internet, and installing a caching proxy server. However, there is something we can all do in the meantime- remember that Internet capacity is a shared resource, and use it judiciously. This means:

1. Minimize personal use
2. Limit activities which consume lots of Internet capacity, like streaming music and videos, and large downloads.
3. Try to use Discovery Streaming for streaming video content, since we have a local server delivering that content, so it doesn't use our Internet connection.
4. If you need to download a huge file, do it during non-peak times (such as after 3:30).
5. If a download is slow, resist the urge to hit "reload" since that just make the problem worse.

By following these steps, we can make Internet access more available to everyone. Otherwise, our Internet access could become an example of the Tragedy of the Commons.

We will continue to keep you informed as we make changes to the network and our management systems. Thanks in advance for your help!

Partial Internet service outage, 1/17/2012, 1-5 AM

This should not result in any actual outage because we have dual fiber connections, but I'm posting it here in case something ends up happening which results in a disruption.

Type:              Planned Outage
Location:          Madison
Ticket Number:     23172
Party:             Charter
Start Time:        1/17/2012 1:00 CST
End Time:          1/17/2012 5:00 CST
Description:       Charter Maintenance

Engineers:


Reporters:

Affected:
  BeloitColl
  BerlinSD
  BigFootHS
  DelavanDarienSD
  EdgertonSD
  JacksonCo
  MonroeSD
  OregonSD
  RiponColl
  ViterboUniv

Notices:

Maria Accuardi @ 2012-01-11 09:17:25
  Charter Communications will be performing maintenance that will
     affect your services.

     Location:  Madison, Wisconsin

     Description:  Resplice damaged fiber to prevent service
     degradation issues and ensure optimum performance and
     reliability.

     Impact: 150 Minutes Downtime

     Charter Ticket#:  100434

OregonSD.org website maintenance outage Saturday morning

From our web site provider: "We will be performing server maintenance on Saturday, January 14, 2012 from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET. While there will not be a complete outage during the maintenance window, connectivity will be sporadic during the required server reboots. We appreciate your understanding."

Gmail now has "Read Receipts"

Gmail now supports "Read Receipts" which allow the sender of an email message to request a verification from the recipient that the email message has been read. This was one of the features that people missed when we moved from Groupwise to Gmail, so I've turned it on for the oregonsd.net domain.
Instructions for using this feature are available at http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1385059

Brief email outage this morning

The brief email outage this morning was due to a domain used by Google to authenticate accounts (accounts.google.com) being categorized by our security filter as a phishing site. This may actually have been accurate, as there has been an increase in phishing activity lately. Alternatively, it could be that the domain was recently added by Google.

Regardless, we have fixed the problem. Sorry for the inconvenience.