Research IS & Computing website maintenance was scheduled for Monday, November 6, 2017 starting at 7p.m. The site was offline for approximately fifteen minutes for security updates, bug fixes and feature enhancements. 

Thank you for working with us during this very busy time to ensure a more secure and productive environment for everyone. In previous broadcasts, Partners IS announced changes impacting access to email when off of the Partners Network that would go into effect on October 31, 2017. These changes are no longer scheduled for this date. In the future, all access to Partners email will require that you confirm your identity with Secure Login (or 2-factor authentication, 2-FA) if you’re not logged in to the Partners network. Partners IS and Information Security are continuing development of a solution that will allow Secure Login when utilizing Apple’s native Mail client in addition to the Microsoft Outlook 2016 client. Please visit the Knowledge Base for more information regarding email client options, recommendations and instructions. This chart also describes what to do when your account is moved to Exchange Online based on the type of email client you are using.

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) experienced issues sending emails from the system from October 20th, 2017 at 11:00PM through today October 24th at 9:30AM. 

This includes survey invitations, survey notifications, emails sent via the AutoNotify plugin, and standard requests submitted to EDC Support. 

Survey invitations that were sent or scheduled to be sent during this timeframe were not processed until the issue was resolved this morning. At that point, any queued emails were sent out to the participants. 

Users using Survey Notifications and/or the AutoNotify plugin are urged to review their recently submitted responses by running an export of their data or a custom report. We are not able to have those emails sent retroactively.

And users who submitted standard REDCap requests such as project/token creation, moves to production, copies of projects should follow up with EDC Support if their requests haven't been processed by the end of tomorrow.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

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

The ERIS DIPR proxy allowing incoming connections to many websites and servers experienced an outage Saturday, October 21, 2017 early AM. because of a security issue.  Service was restored Saturday, October 21, 2017, 1:20 PM.

RFANFS Unscheduled Downtime on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, from 9:15a.m. - 10:30a.m.

RFANFS (rfanfs.research.partners.org) and all associated shares were unavailable for emergency maintenance. Any applications and systems that rely on storage associated with this server were offline. 

Impact
RFANFS (rfanfs.research.partners.org) is the file server that provides linux-based nfs and Samba sharing for the RFA/RIS service. Technicians will check and reboot or remount storage any impacted systems managed by ERIS.

Action Required
If you are an owner of a system that connects to RFANFS, we strongly encourage you to check the status of your system(s). If you find one unresponsive, reboot or remount the storage. If any issues persist, please contact rcc@partners.org and we'll address the problem.

Please contact rcc@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns about this maintenance.

REDCap (https://redcap.partners.org/redcap) upgrades to v7.4.11 scheduled for Thursday October 5th at 6:30AM EST are complete. REDCap was offline from 6:30AM-7:25 EST.

This upgrade will include a number of new features and bug fixes. These include:

• New feature: Custom Record Status Dashboards - Users can build and save custom versions of the Record Status Dashboard to customize the dashboard to their liking.
• New feature: Better device management for the REDCap Mobile App – The Mobile App page in a project now contains better methods for keeping track of the activity of the mobile app used on many devices at a time for a single project.
• New feature: Response Limit for surveys - Users may set a response limit for any given survey to prevent respondents from starting the survey once a set number of responses have been collected. Note: It can be set so that the response count included either completed responses only or both partial and completed responses. Users may also set custom text to be displayed to respondents on the survey page when the response limit has been reached.
• New feature: Time Limit for Survey Completion – Users may set the amount of time (in days, hours, and/or minutes) that each respondent has to complete a given survey based on when they were initially sent the survey invitation. Note: This feature excludes public survey links. When enabled, a new column is displayed on the Participant List where it denotes if a participant’s survey link has expired and also displays the expiration time if you hover over the icon. If the icon is clicked, the user can permanently override the link expiration time by setting it further in the future (to give the respondent more time), or else to expire the link sooner (or even immediately).
• Improvement - If a record has any survey invitations that are scheduled to be sent in the next 7 days, it will display a button above the table on the Record Home Page. The button will note how many upcoming invites are scheduled for the current record in the 7 days, and when clicked, it will display a table of the send time and survey title for the next 7 days worth of scheduled invites.

Full release notes available here.

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

Applies to: iOS and Android devices enrolled in MobileIron who are on Exchange Online

If your work email is not loading on your phone, please power it off and turn it back on. If you reboot and your email does not load, please try switching from Wi-Fi to cellular (or vice versa). Please wait a few minutes for the phone to refresh and your email to load.  We have recently discovered a mismatch in ActiveSync protocols when some mobile devices connect, which requires a reboot to update and restore functionality appropriately. If you continue to experience difficulty, please contact the IS Service Desk for assistance.

There will be limited support next week while EDC Support attends the annual REDCap Conference. Please plan for delayed response times.  Priorities will be made for Moving Projects to Production, User Access, Creating New Projects, and Change Requests.  General REDCap questions will be best effort. 

Be sure to review the Help&FAQ, Training Resources, and Getting Started with REDCap pages.  

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

Applies To:  Windows HP Devices

Partners IS has identified that a specific Intel I217-LM Network card within HP device models can cause major network switch outages. Devices managed by Partners IS have already been updated. These instructions are for all other HP workstations connecting to the Partners network.

Please work with your Local IT Administrator to download and install the latest versions of the NIC Driver provided by HP Support Services.

1. Visit https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers
2. Enter the model name of the computer you have
3. Upgrade all drivers.

Here are a few device-specific drivers for your convenience. This list is not exhaustive:

• HP EliteDesk 800 G1 Mini-Tower, Small Form Factor, Desktop Mini, Ultra Slim Desktop Models
  • Windows 7 x86, Windows 7 x64
  • http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp71001-71500/sp71407.exe
• HP ZBook Mobile Workstation, HP ZBook Mobile G2 Workstation Models                
  • Windows7 x86, Windows 7 x64                                
  • http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp77001-77500/sp77107.exe

If your device is blocked from the network,

1. When possible, connect to the guest network to update your driver
2. Contact the IS Service Desk for next steps

Additional references:

• https://communities.intel.com/thread/48051
• http://linuxtoolkit.blogspot.com/2014/12/intel-nic-driver-causing-multicast.html
• http://packetpushers.net/good-nics-bad-things-blast-ipv6-multicast-listener-discovery-queries/
• https://communities.intel.com/thread/70393
• http://h20564.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=mmr_sf-EN_US000005367

ERIS DIPR File Server (fs.dipr.partners.org) maintenance is scheduled on Sunday, July 30, 2017 from 10a.m. to 2p.m. EDT for a full server replacement. During this maintenance window, any applications and systems that have storage associated with this server will be offline for approximately one hour.

Impact

ERIS DIPR File Server (fs.dipr.partners.org) is the nfs file server which provides mounted storage to our DIPR environment. For any systems managed by ERIS, technicians will check and reboot or remount storage.

Action Required

If you are an owner of a virtual machine in DIPR, we strongly encourage you to check the status of your VM once the scheduled work concludes. If you find one unresponsive, reboot or remount the storage. If any issues persist, please contact rcc@partners.org and we'll address the problem.

Please contact rcc@partners.org if you have any questions or concerns about this maintenance.

ERIS provides Discovery Informatics Platform for Research (DIPR), a flexible, secure cloud computing infrastructure designed to meet research needs. DIPR Virtual Machines (VMs) offer IT power and services to research customers without placing the burden of purchasing or managing server hardware on the researcher.

Updates to LabArchives Secure Login process to use Okta, Partners newest technology, will occur on July 13 at 4pm ET.

The new login link will be posted and updated on our websites. Please be sure to update any bookmarks after the cut over!

The biggest change to note is that when you are off network, you will be prompted for a second factor of authentication.

To register a phone number, or to check to see what number has been previously registered, go to Password self server (myprofile.partners.org). Login and click on the "update my phone number” link.  You can add a phone number or update an existing number.  Make sure you enter all numbers you may wish to use for second factor authentication, you will be able to choose the appropriate number to use when needed.

Please see the article INFO: Secure Log In Overview and FAQs for additional information.

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

The Office 2016 upgrade for Macintosh, non-standard PC or personally-owned computers used for business is available for self-installation. There is a separate process for upgrading Partners Standard Windows PCs; site-specific information can be found on SharePoint. 

Steps at a glance

1. Uninstall older versions of Office
2. Install Office 2016 
   • For Non-standard Windows PCs and personally-owned devices can install through the Office 365 Portal - please read these Installation Instructions
   • For Mac OS > Self Service Application or through Office 365 Portal
   • For Partners Standard PCs > Site specific information can be found on SharePoint. There is a separate process for devices with asset tag, yellow lock and Partners' screensaver.
3. Activate Office 2016

Note: please read the complete Installation Instructions

Visit the Office 2016 training & support site for training and support resources related to the Microsoft Office 2016 upgrade and move to Exchange Online for Windows devices at Partners. For help with the install, stop by your local Tech Depot for assistance or contact the IS Service Desk.