Due to an emergency patch recommendation from gitlab, we will be applying upgrades to the gitlab servers we run today. xgitlab.cels.anl.gov (legacy), gitlab.cels.anl.gov (internal Legacy) and git.cels.anl.gov (GCE) will all be getting upgrades starting around noon today. In each case, the outage should last 30-45 minutes. Sorry for the short notice, such is the world …

Hi, everybody! First up, apologies for no update newsletter in January. There’s a whole lot happening, and things got a bit hectic, meaning I let this slide long enough it’s now a February newsletter (and barely, at that). Let’s just dive right into the important bits of info I’m sure you’re curious about. (more…)

The majority of the GCE compute nodes have been rebuilt and are back online at this time. We have also added a few nodes with this work. Please see virtualhelpdesk.cels.anl.gov/docs/linux/login-compute-and-home-nodes/ for an updated list of current hostnames/configurations as some nodes have been renumbered. As most of the nodes are now running ubuntu 20.04, if you …

On Monday, Feb 14, 9:30am CST, we will be taking down the following GCE compute nodes: compute-03.cels.anl.gov, compute-04.cels.anl.gov, compute-05.cels.anl.gov and compute-06.cels.anl.gov for system upgrades. This upgrade will require about 4 hours of downtime. When they come back up, they will be running the most recent GCE compute/workstation build (Ubuntu 20.04). This will not affect data …

An urgent security patch is needed on all the linux systems in GCE which requires a reboot.  Beginning at 5PM this evening, we will start rolling these patches out.  This will affect all GCE compute nodes, home nodes, login nodes, and workstations.  In each case, the outage will be as long as it takes for …

We’ve got to apply some security patches to our WordPress server that will require a brief outage.  We’re scheduling this for 5PM Central Standard Time tomorrow, January 13th.  It should take all of ten minutes, but we’ll call the maintenance window an hour just in case something goes awry and we need to roll back. …

Hi, everyone!  I hope everyone’s able to stay healthy and happy in these weird times! I’m still keeping up my pace on one newsletter a month to announce new services and features, and bring forth news on the pending retirement of the Legacy MCS account system. Last call for Legacy Compute nodes With that in …

BIS will be sending out a communication on this, but I thought I’d let you all know how to fix this.  If you do not want every meeting invite to include a Teams link, follow these steps: Login to https://outlook.office365.com/mail/inbox in your web browser. Click the Settings gear icon in the upper right portion of …

We’re still investigating what’s causing this, but recently Outlook started automatically adding a Teams link to all meetings you create in Outlook via Outlook for Mac (old or new), and Outlook Web Application (OWA).  This is happening independent of whether you have specified “All meetings are online” in your preferences. Until this is rectified, when …

Hi, everyone!

It’s that time of year again, when we all give thanks.  Me?  I’m thankful for a number of things, including having such a wonderful group of coworkers to work with and support, that I get to spend these holidays with my family, and that my Airpods survived a trip through the washing machine.  I’ll let you all decide on if that’s an honest sorting.  But enough with that, on with the ever-so-important announcements. (more…)