12/8/2003:  Athena node downtime scheduled:  

The following nodes will be down tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec 9) from about 10:30 until noon:
Athena11
Athena12
Athena13
(also test nodes Athena00, 01, and 02)

10/8/2003:  Athena node status report:  

The Athena node and network maintenance was completed during the scheduled maintenance period this morning and all nodes returned to service as expected.   Please remember that the currently available nodes are Athena03-Athena13, as described in the note below dated 9/22/2003.

10/6//2003: IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL ATHENA USERS:

The Athena nodes (and attached CISER file server) will be unavailable this Wed, Oct 8th, from 5 AM to 8 AM.   This will allow time for both university wide and local system maintenance.   Please plan your work accordingly.

9/22/2003: Notice:  Three nodes will be down on Wed 9/24 and names will change:

 In preparation for the arrival of new equipment, three Athena nodes will be taken down this Wednesday morning (9/24) from 8AM until NOON.  All other nodes and the ciser file server (the U:\ drive) will remain accessible.   The following changes in node names will happen during the down time:

the node that is currently Athena01 will become Athena09
the node that is currently Athena02 will become Athena10
the node that is currently Athena10 will become Athena13

The names "Athena01" and "Athena02" will be reserved for the new Unisys ES7000 system that will arrive later this semester, about which you will receive more information later!
9/15/2003 Repeat Reminder for all Athena users!!!

Some important changes will be happening with our Athena computing systems during this semester.  Soon we will be adding a state-of-the-art Unisys ES7000 server with 16 of the latest MP Xeon (32-bit) processors and eight of the newest generation  Intel Itanium 2 (64-bit) processors.  You will be able to use these new nodes in very much the same way as you do our current Athena nodes and you will have access to much greater computing power.  We will also be placing all the Athena nodes behind a firewall, which should greatly reduce the number of times we have to take the machines down for security upgrades, etc.   Altogether these changes should give you more access to more reliable and better computing resources!  These changes, however, will make it very important that all users have up to date operating systems as indicated below:

CHANGES IN SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 
*Very soon* it will be necessary for you to have Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 2003 to make full use of CISER's computing resources. 
Our old and new systems will be placed behind a firewall as soon as possible. After that point users of earlier Windows operating systems (including Windows 95, 98, and ME) will no longer be able to move files to or from the CISER file server to their local machine, either with ftp or drive mapping.
Users with Windows 2000, XP, or 2003 *will* be able to map the CISER file server to their desktop and transfer files with drag-and-drop ease.

POLICY REMINDER: 
CISER computing resources are for academic research *only* and are not to be used for e-mail, audio or video file storage, file serving, or backup of your personal computers.  Misuse of computing resources, including proprietary software and data made available by CISER, violates the Cornell University Campus Code of Conduct http://www.univco.cornell.edu/policy/ccc.htm and Policy Regarding Abuse of Computers and Network Systems http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/responsible-use/abuse.html.  By using your CISER computing account, you acknowledge these policies and agree to adhere to them.

9/12/2003  2:15 PM:  All Athena nodes and the CISER file server were taken down at noon today so that critical security patches could be applied.  The nodes were up and running again by 12:45.  Any jobs you submitted prior to the reboot will need to be re-submitted.
9/3/2003  4:54 PM:  All of the Athena nodes had to be rebooted during the past hour due to system network problems.  Athena nodes 04-08 and 10-12 are back up and running now.   While the nodes were down all Windows updates were applied as well in an effort to postpone the next down time.  
6/4/2003: 9:15 am The maintenance on the Athena nodes and the CISER file server has been completed and the nodes are available again.

6/3/2003:  The Athena nodes and the CISER file server will be down tomorrow morning (Wed, June 4th) from approximately 8:30 - 10:00 AM, so that important security patches may be applied.  Please plan accordingly!


3/23/2003:  All Athena node are up and running as scheduled.   DBMS/Copy has been updated on all nodes.   SPSS and Stata have been updated to newer versions on Athena10-12.

3/21/2003
The CISER computing cluster (Athena nodes and file server) will be down for maintenance and upgrades according to the schedule below. Please plan accordingly!

THIS Wednesday, April 23rd:
Athena01 - Athena08 down from 7 AM -10 AM
Athena10 - Athena12 down from 7 AM - 3 PM

3/18/03 UPDATE (6:30 PM)   The CISERFS1 file server is now back up and running, and the security patch has been successfully installed.  

3/18/03 UPDATE (6:00 PM):

CISERFS1 file server -- U:\ drive --  did not come backup immediately after the reboot. We expect that the file server will be back on line at approximately 8:00 PM. 

The Athena nodes can be accessed via Remote Desktop Client or Terminal Services Client Software, but are not available via Web Access.  Although the nodes are useable, users will need to temporarily save data to the T:\ drive and may experience slow response times.

3/18/03
ATHENA USERS --- CISERFS1 and ALL of the ATHENA NODES will have an emergency downtime TONIGHT, Tuesday, 3/18/03.
A critical windows security patch needs to be applied.  CISERFS1 file server (U:\ drive) and the Athena nodes will not be available from 5:00 PM until ____ PM this evening.
All sessions will be lost due to a necessary reboot.  Please plan accordingly. Sorry for any inconvenience.


3/6/2003:   NEW PASSWORD POLICY INSTITUTED MARCH 5:

2/10/2003: 3:30 PM

CTC reports that work on the SV nodes is taking longer than expected, so the SV nodes are not back in service yet.

2/10/2003: 1:30 PM

All Athena nodes and the CISER File Server are back in service.

2/09/2003:   SCHEDULED DOWNTIME FOR ATHENA AND SV NODES:

All Athena nodes and the CISER File Server will be out of service from Noon until 2:00 PM on Monday, 2/10/03. All SV nodes will be out of service from approximately 1:00 to 3:00 PM on Monday, 2/10/03. Please plan accordingly.

1/15/2003  3:15 PM:   GOOD NEWS  FOR ATHENA USERS:

The CISER File Server (ciserfs1, the U:\ drive on the Athena nodes) has been repaired and is back up and stable.  You may  resume work as usual :-)

1/15/2003 11:30 AM:   Important alert for all Athena users!

There is a hardware failure on the CISER File Server (ciserfs1, the U:\ drive on the Athena nodes).  The file server may be rebooted one or more times at any time today.  Backup your work frequently as you work.  We will notify you when the system is stable again!