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Friday, July 9, 2021

Shibboleth server upgrade from version 4.0.1 to 4.1.2 - July 20

³󲹳󲹱ԾԲ?ShibbolethSAML identity provider (https://idp.uwaterloo.ca/), one of the University’s application authentication tools,isbeing upgraded from version4.0.1 to 4.1.2.

³ٳ󾱲󲹱ԾԲ?The upgrade will start on Tuesday, July 20 at 7:00 a.m. and will take a few hours to complete.

³󲹳the impact?

  • During the upgrade, the service should remain largely available. Some authentications may fail when service nodes are taken offline or returned to service.
  • After the upgrade, users accessing Shibboleth supported applications will be redirected to authenticate using the ADFS login page.

Whatdo users need to do?Owners ofShibbolethsupported applications should test each application’s authentication after the maintenance time above. Anyissues found during testing should be reported tort@uwaterloo.ca.

Questions or concerns?Pleasecontact theIST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

Monday, June 21, 2021

uwaterloo.ca website domain maintenance - June 24

What is happening?The uwaterloo.ca WCMS website domain will be undergoing maintenance. Please note this change will only affect WCMS websites and the campus map. New WCMS 3 websites will be directed to Pantheon while existing WCMS 2 sites will continue to direct to our on-premises data centres.

When is this happening?From Thursday, June 24 at 8:00 p.m. to Friday, June 25 at 12:00 a.m.

Why is this happening?In order to prepare for the upcoming WCMS 3 release with our new Drupal vendor, Pantheon, changes need to be applied to the way WCMS website requests are directed.

What is the impact?No user impact is expected, all WCMS websites should continue to be available during this maintenance period.

Questions or concerns?Please contactJoe Kwan.

Friday, June 11, 2021

Request Tracker (RT) moving to ADFS authentication - August 11

Update (August 6, 1:07 p.m.):

What is happening?

When is this happening? Wednesday, August 11.

What do users need to do? When logging into RT:

  • On the Sign in page, enter yourusername@uwaterloo.caand click Next.
  • If prompted to choose an account, choose ‘Work or school account’.
  • Enter your WatIAM password.
  • You will also receive a two-factor authentication (2FA) prompt.

Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

Update (June 16, 8:55 a.m.):

What is happening?Request Tracker (RT)will not be moving toActive Directory Federation Services (ADFS) authenticationtoday as scheduled due to last minute inconsistencies found during upgrade testing. This update will be postponed to a future date (TBD).

Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

What is happening?

When is this happening? Wednesday,June 16.

What do users need to do? When logging intoRT:

  • On the Sign in page, enter yourusername@uwaterloo.caand click Next.
  • If prompted to choose an account, choose ‘Work or school account’.
  • Enter your WatIAM password.
  • You will also receive a two-factor authentication (2FA) prompt.

Questions or concerns? Please contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Central Authentication Service (CAS) maintenance - June 10

What is happening?Various deprecated security protocols and ciphers from the CAS service are being removed.

What is the impact?This change applies to the limited set of applications still using the CAS service.Please note that CAS is a deprecated service and this removal is essential to maintain the security of ݮƵ credentials.

When is this happening?The CAS change will be implemented on Thursday, June 10 at 8:00 a.m.

Why is this happening?This maintenance is required to remove obsolete protocols from campus authentication systems.

Action you may need to take before the change:Review your CAS services to verify they can communicate using TLS1.2 and associated ciphers OR prepare to switch to ADFS.

Questions or concerns?Please contact theIST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Basic Authentication to be disabled for Microsoft 365 mailboxes – July 15

Update (June 28, 9:45 a.m.):

What is happening?Basic Authentication, a less secure authentication method, will be disabled for Microsoft 365 mailboxes.

Why is this happening?

  • Basic Authentication is being removed by Microsoft.

  • The change from Basic Authentication to Modern Authentication will require Microsoft 365 mailboxes to use two-factor authentication (2FA), which will help improve the security of the mailboxes and prevent unauthorized access.

When is this happening?Thursday, July 15.

What is the impact?This process may take up to 24 hours to take effect. Mailboxes will continue to be available.

What do I need to do?

  • If you are using anup-to-date, there should be no impact.

    • Mostissues can be resolved by.

  • If you are using an older mail client or one that does not support modern authentication, you may:

    • Update or switch to a.

    • Linux users should consider usingor the web client,.

    • If Mac OS users are using anout-of-dateOS, they may receive a “Can’t connect to the account “Exchange”.” error message indicating the username or password was incorrect. If this occurs, you may upgrade your Mac OS orand access your mailbox via the web client,.

    • If unable to upgrade your mail client,and access your mailbox via the web client,.

Questions or concerns?Please submit to the IST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.

Update (May 25, 8:50 a.m.):This work is being rescheduled for a later date; more details will be provided once available.

Questions or concerns?Please contact theIST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.

What is happening?Basic Authentication will be disabled for Office 365 mailboxes.

Why is this happening?Basic Authentication is being deprecated by Microsoft. Disabling basic authentication will stop O365 mailboxes from bypassing multi-factor authentication, which will prevent unauthorized logins to mailboxes.

When is this happening?Basic Authentication for Office 365 mailboxes will be disabled on Tuesday, May 25. Please note the disabling process will take approximately one hour to run and the change can take up to 24 hours to take effect.

What is the impact?Some users may experience issues with accessing mailbox features after the change is made on the above date. Most issues can be resolved by removing and re-adding your mail account to the mail client. If you experience persisting issues, please submit a ticket tort@uwaterloo.ca.

Questions or concerns?Please submit to the IST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.

Friday, May 14, 2021

WCMS 3 Rebuild project: Invitation to participate in beta 2 testing phase

What is happening?As we continue to move development of our new WCMS 3 website environment forward, we would like to invite you to participate in the next part of our testing strategy, the beta 2 testing phase.

What is beta testing?Beta testing provides a structured approach to testing the features and functionality of WCMS 3,helpingtoidentify bugs/issues/unexpected behavioursthat cannot be caughtthroughautomated testingprocesses.

How long is the beta 2 testing phase?The beta 2 testing phase will take place between May 19 and June 8, 2021.

Who can participate in beta 2 testing?This testing phase is open to members of the University Community who have completed the WCMS for Content Maintainers (WCMS 2) training course.

What can I expect during this testing phase?

  • Beta 2 websites will be built in thePantheon environmentand will not contain any content.
  • You may choose torebuilda WCMS 2 website in WCMS 3 for the following reasons:
    • You want to rebuild a small site to familiarize yourself with the new platform.
    • You want to revamp an existing site entirely.
    • You have a non-standard (FDSU) site that you are eager to get in WCMS 3 and feel the current functionality will cover your use case (Reminder: only standard FDSU sites and some single-page site functionality will be supported in WCMS 3 at launch).
  • Alternatively, you may choose to begin building a brand-new website in WCMS 3.
  • Migration of WCMS 2 websites to WCMS 2 is not supported at this time.
  • WCMS 3 training notes will not be available during this testing phase.
    • Support requests may be submitted towcms@uwaterloo.ca.
    • Training and support resources, and information on completing required WCMS 3 training courses, will be shared when ready.
  • Websites built during beta 2 testing are eligible to move from development to the live Pantheon environment on or after June 29, 2021.

How do I participate in beta 2 testing?

You may submit a request to.

Notice a bug or issue with your site?Please submit any bugs and/or issues using the reporting form,/building-the-next-wcms/wcms-3-bug-report-form

Questions or concerns?Please submit to the team viawcms@uwaterloo.ca.

Monday, May 10, 2021

Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) now available for students

What is happening?Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), a Microsoft Azure-based system for virtualizing operating systems and applications, is now available for students to use for lab computers and software.

What is Windows Virtual Desktop used for?Windows Virtual Desktop is a Microsoft cloud-based solution that gives users remote access to desktops and applications. WVD can be used as an alternative to, or augmentation of, physical computer labs.

How do users access Windows Virtual Desktop?Students that have been given access to a department’s virtual lab canby logging in to.

How do I set up a Windows Virtual Desktop environment?IT support staff can enable Windows Virtual Desktop for their department or faculty by submitting a request tort@uwaterloo.ca. Visit theWindows Virtual Desktop service pagefor more information.

Questions or concerns?Please contact the IST Service Desk,helpdesk@uwaterloo.caor ext. 44357.