Service Alerts

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Action Required: Critical Windows Updates Needed

July 13, 2021 1:37 pm

Action Required: Immediately Run Windows Updates on Non-standard Windows and Personal Computers Used for Work

Earlier this month, a critical vulnerability was discovered with the Windows Print Spooler service that runs by default on Windows computers. Devices that are not patched remain vulnerable for attackers to remotely execute code with system-level privileges.

Did you know that Microsoft regularly releases security patches for its Operating System (OS) and software products for your PC on the second Tuesday of every month? Follow the steps below to keep your computer safe and secure and your Microsoft software up to date and running smoothly.

All employees using non-standard Windows or personal computers for work must check for and apply OS updates on a monthly basis; please see HOWTO: Run Windows Updates for instructions. 

Computer Steps
HOWTO: Determine whether you are using a standard or non-standard computer
Non-standard Windows Computer Please make sure your devices are patched, restarted and update-to-date. See How to.
Standard Windows Computer Please make sure to restart your device to receive the latest patches.
Vendor-supported Computer Please contact the vendor.

Visit the IS Service Hub for technical assistance. 

Posted on July 13, 2021
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ERISOne filesystem connectivity issues

July 1, 2021 10:42 am to 2:45 pm

All ERISOne systems that rely on access to the Briefcase filesystem are back to work. There was a system failure due to overheating that caused a power down on one of the enclosures. The system was rebooted and access was verified. Please let us know if you still see any problems  emailing hpcsupport@partners.org, a ticket will automatically be opened for you. 

Thanks for your patience. 

 

Posted on July 1, 2021
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

FreezerWorks Maintenance 7 PM June 17, 2021

June 18, 2021 7:00 pm to June 19, 2021 12:00 pm

The FreezerWorks server will be offline for maintenance from 7 PM Friday to 12 PM Saturday

Posted on June 11, 2021
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RISC Website Maintenance 2 Jun 2021

June 2, 2021 6:30 am to 7:00 am

The Research Computing website, https://rc.partners.org, was updated on Wednesday, June 2 at 6:30a.m. to apply platform updates. Updates completed at 6:42a.m.

Please contact rcwebmaster@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Posted on May 27, 2021
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Lyris Listserv service restored

May 22, 2021 2:37 pm to May 24, 2021 5:37 pm

ERIS's Lyris listfserv is now available. License restored.

Posted on May 22, 2021
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FreezerWorks Server Restored

May 17, 2021 12:57 pm to 3:57 pm

FreezerWorks has been restored.

Posted on May 17, 2021
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Resolved: Login Failing When Creating NEW LabArchives Account with MGB Account

May 14, 2021 11:38 am

There is a temporary outage on the LabArchives Single Sign-On server that affects ONLY those trying to create a new account with single sign-on. Existing users are not affected. LabArchives will notify when they have a fix.

Posted on May 14, 2021
red - services offline, issue, active work

FreezerWorks Maintenance 7 PM Tonight

April 30, 2021 7:00 pm to May 1, 2021 12:05 am

The FreezerWorks server will be down for maintenance tonight, from 7 PM to Midnight

Posted on April 30, 2021
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

Zoom Account Changes

April 26, 2021 3:19 pm

Recently, Zoom accounts registered with @mgh.harvard.edu, @partners.org and other MGB emails were converted from a Harvard to a Mass General Brigham enterprise account. Mass General Brigham provides free limited “Basic” accounts as well as discounted enterprise accounts for $100/year. Full description of differences as well as instructions and links to the order form can be found in the Knowledge Base.

If you need to host a Harvard Medical School teaching, research, or administrative activity on Zoom, you are eligible for a Harvard Zoom account and will need to link it to @hms.harvard.edu email. Hospital business, such as graduate medical education, hospital-based laboratory research, or clinical departmental activities are not eligible. 

For further reference please see the HMS website.

 

Posted on April 26, 2021
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REDCap Scheduled Downtime: March 20th, 2021

March 19, 2021 12:16 pm

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) infrastructure improvements are scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday March 20 at 9AM ET.

We expect minimal downtime; however MGB REDCap could be unavailable for up to 3 hours.

The infrastructure improvements include our effort to encrypt the database and data at rest to meet our regulatory requirements by April 1, 2021.
If you have any concerns about this scheduled maintenance, please email edcsupport@partners.org
 

Posted on March 19, 2021
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RISC Website Maintenance 11 Mar 2021

March 11, 2021 7:10 am to 7:25 am

The Research Computing website, https://rc.partners.org, was updated on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 7a.m. to apply platform updates. The website was offline for a short period of time during this maintenance window.

Please contact rcwebmaster@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Posted on March 9, 2021
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ERIS Infrastructure Patching Schedule for 2021

December 19, 2020 12:22 pm to 3:22 pm

ERIS Patching Schedule for 2021 



  January 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, January 30, 2021
  February 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, February 27, 2021
  March 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, March 27, 2021
  April 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, May 1, 2021
  May 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, May 29, 2021
  June 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, June 26, 2021
  July 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, July 31, 2021
  August 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, August 28, 2021
  September 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, September 25, 2021
  October 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, October 30, 2021
  November 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, November 20, 2021
  December 2021  
Non-Production Patching Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Production Patching and ERIS Maintenance Saturday, December 18, 2021
   

Please email rcc@partners.org with any questions or concerns.

 

Posted on December 19, 2020
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REDCap Scheduled Downtime

December 9, 2020 6:30 am to 6:39 am

REDCap Upgrades to v10.0.30 Scheduled:

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) upgrades to v10.0.30 scheduled for Wednesday December 9 at 6:30AM EST were successful. REDCap was offline from 6:30AM - 6:39AM.

This upgrade includes security and bug fixes.

Release notes available soon.

If you have any concerns about REDCap being offline at this time, please email edcsupport@partners.org

Posted on December 7, 2020
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An Update Regarding macOS Big Sur 11

November 13, 2020 3:00 pm

The PEAS team is pleased to recommend the upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11 in the Enterprise.
 

Prior to upgrading, please ensure you have the most recent version of enterprise apps that you use, like Citrix Workspace, Cisco VPN or Microsoft Office. The latest version of these applications are available in PEAS Self Service. Also verify the compatibility of any non-enterprise apps you use prior to upgrading. 32-bit applications are no longer supported on macOS Catalina or macOS Big Sur. You can check if you’re running 32-bit apps in macOS Mojave before you download and install Big Sur. From the Apple menu > About This Mac > System Report > Legacy Software or by going to https://roaringapps.com/.
 
We advise everyone to upgrade and get the latest security features unless you have specialty software that is currently incompatible with macOS Big Sur. Keep in mind that Apple, and therefore MGB, only supports the current OS and two versions prior. With the release of macOS Big Sur 11, the only other supported mac OS's are macOS Mojave 10.14 and macOS Catalina 10.15. If you are running an out of date macOS, please view our webpage on how to Update Your Mac, or contact the Service Desk if you need assistance with an upgrade. Older Mac operating systems introduce risk to your data and the enterprise as they are not patched for security vulnerabilities, nor do they comply with MGB policies.

Please note: When upgrading to macOS Big Sur, any folders in the root folder will be moved to /users/shared/relocated items.




Enterprise Applications
Software Tested Version Tested Functionality
Crowdstrike 5.41.12205 (tick)
Forescout 19.0 (tick)
Cisco AnyConnect 4.9.02028 (tick)
Microsoft Office 16.41 (tick)
Citrix Workspace 20.10 (tick)
Microsoft Teams 1.3 (tick)

 




Academic Applications
Software Tested Versions Tested Functionality
MatLab 2020b & up (tick)
EndNote X9 cross (x)
Flowjo 10.7 tick (/)
SPSS 24 cross (x)
Stata 16 (tick)
Prism 9 (tick)
Microsoft Remote Desktop 10.4.1 (tick)
Parallels 16.0.1 (tick)

Posted on November 12, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

New, Secure Standards for Email Security, Modern Authentication

November 17, 2020 8:00 am

Older devices or software may connect to email using “basic authentication”, which requires only your username and password for access. Basic authentication leaves you open to cyberattacks and does not meet Mass General Brigham’s security standards.

To increase email security, basic authentication will be disabled and requiring two-factor authentication to access email on November 17th.

To avoid any interruption to your email access, follow the instructions in the Knowledge Base.

If you do not update your device, you may access your email using Outlook on the web at https://outlook.office.com. For questions or assistance, please contact the IS Service Desk.

Posted on November 9, 2020
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REDCap Scheduled Downtime

November 9, 2020 1:57 pm

REDCap Upgrades to v.10.0.25 Scheduled:

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) upgrades to v10.0.25 scheduled for Friday November 13th, 6:30AM ET are complete. REDCap was offline from 6:40-7:25 AM ET.

This upgrade includes a number of new features and bug fixes:

New feature: Record-level locking: This feature allows users to lock an entire record (as opposed to locking individual instruments) so that none of the record’s data can ever be modified unless someone with record-level locking/unlocking privileges goes and unlocks the record again.

New feature: Field Embedding: Field Embedding is the ultimate way to customize surveys and data collection instruments to make them look exactly how you want. Field Embedding is a Shazam-like feature that allows you to reposition field elements on a survey page or data entry form so that they get embedded in a new location on that same page. Embedding fields gives users greater control over the look and feel of your instrument. Users may place fields in a grid/table for a more compact user-friendly page, or they can position fields close together in a group if they are related.

Full release notes

New Features, Changes, and Major Bug Fixes

If you have any concerns about REDCap being offline at this time or any questions about these new features, please email edcsupport@partners.org

Posted on November 9, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

rc.partners.org Website Downtime

November 24, 2020 7:30 am to 8:30 am

There may be a short interruption of service for the RISC Website during a maintenance window on Tuesday, November 24 between 7:30- 8:00a.m. EST. The RISC Website, https://rc.partners.org, may be unavailable for a short period of time during this window.

Please contact rcwebmaster@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Posted on November 5, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

ERIS Hosted Services 31 Oct 2020

October 31, 2020 7:00 am to November 3, 2020 5:00 pm

On Saturday, October 31, 2020, the ERIS Hosted Services Infrastructure was impacted by planned power work in the Needham Data Center that unexpectedly impacted some equipment. It was not a data center power failure. This event took down several research websites and services as it impacted all of the DIPR and RFA infrastructure. The team restored power and focused on bringing up all the production servers and virtual machines (VMs) impacted by this event. At this point, all the production VM’s are up and available, and the team is focused on restoring the non-production VM’s. We anticipate that all the non-production nodes up and online on Tuesday, November 3, 20

If you are the owner of a website, hosted database, storage or virtual server on ERIS infrastructure, we encourage you to check your connection and reboot if needed. 

If you have a critical process that is down, please send a note to rcc@partners.org, and the team we will investigate right away.

Please check the Service Alerts for service-specific instructions and impact. Please make sure you subscribe to receive appropriate email notifications for the services you subscribe to: https://rc.partners.org/subscribe.

Posted on November 2, 2020
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HSPH REDCap Scheduled Downtime

October 19, 2020 1:51 pm

HSPH REDCap (https://redcap.sph.harvard.edu/redcap) upgrades to version 9.5.35 scheduled for Tuesday October 20th, 6:30AM are complete. REDcap was offline from 6:30-7:15AM. 

Release notes.

If you have any questions, please email edcsupport@partners.org

Posted on October 19, 2020
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RISC Website Maintenance 14 Oct 2020

October 14, 2020 7:30 am to 8:00 am

The Research Computing website, https://rc.partners.org, was updated on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at 7:30a.m. to apply platform updates. The website was offline for a short period of time during this maintenance window.

Please contact rcwebmaster@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Posted on October 12, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

New CrowdStrike antivirus to be installed on your Mac computer

October 6, 2020 6:00 am

Due to the increase in ransomware attacks on hospitals all over the country—some close to home— Mass General Brigham is installing CrowdStrike antivirus software on all PEAS-enrolled Macs running version 10.14 or higher on October 13, 2020. 

There is no action required on your part to complete this install. The new antivirus provides additional threat detection and prevention capabilities. 

If you would like to get CrowdStrike antivirus before October 13, 2020, follow the instructions in this article. 

If you are not already running macOS Mojave 10.14, or later, on your computer, reminder to please upgrade your Mac this month. 

Please contact the IS Service Desk for additional assistance.

Thank you in advance.

Jigar Kadakia
Mass General Brigham Chief Information Security & Privacy Officer
CISPO@partners.org

 

Posted on October 6, 2020
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REDCap Scheduled Downtime

October 1, 2020 11:41 am

REDCap Upgrades to v.9.5.35 Scheduled:

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) upgrades to v9.5.35 scheduled for tomorrow Friday October 2nd, 6:30AM EST are complete. REDCap was offline from 6:44-6:57AM.

This upgrade includes a number of security and bug fixes.

Release notes available here.

If you have any concerns about REDCap being offline at this time, please email edcsupport@partners.org

REDCap eConsent: Part 11 Compliance Documentation

For groups using the REDCap eConsent template and require 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, validation documentation can be found by going to our REDCap eConsent Compliance page. 

REDCap Support is Limited - Please allow 2 business days for standard requests​:

There is 1FTE supporting all REDCap standard requests and questions. We are seeing an increased demand in REDCap and we are supporting many priority Covid related projects. We are working to find ways to supplement support. 

As a reminder, please allow up to 2 days for responses to your requests. 

Posted on October 1, 2020
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REDCap Scheduled Downtime

September 25, 2020 12:25 pm

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) server maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, 2020 from 9:00AM to 3:00PM ET.

Please expect REDCap to be down for a short time during the maintenance window.

If you have any concerns about this scheduled maintenance, please email edcsupport@partners.org

Posted on September 25, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

Production Patching Scheduled for Saturday September 26, 2020

September 23, 2020 12:11 pm to 3:11 pm

The ERIS infrastructure team will be patching the Production ERIS servers and VMs on Saturday, September 26, 2020, starting at 9:00 am. Please send any concerns to rcc@partners.org

Posted on September 23, 2020
yellow - pre-downtime, calls to action

Shutdown Old ERIS Proxy Server

September 23, 2020 12:08 pm to 3:08 pm

Over the past 6 months, the ERIS Infrastructure team has been moving active URLs/Sites with access to the Internet from our older proxy server to a new redundant proxy server. We are targeting Wednesday, October 7th to shut down the old proxy server. There should be no impact when we shut down the old proxy server, however, if you have any questions or concerns you can send them to rcc@partners.org and we will follow up with you concerning your site.

Posted on September 23, 2020

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