04-Jan-2021

NoMachine Update: Tuesday Morning, 05-Jan-2021

On Tuesday morning, 05-Jan-2021, all CLASSE NoMachine servers will update to v7 during the regular weekly update cycle (staggered between 4:22 and 10:22AM). When this update occurs, the NoMachine software will restart. This major release contains one feature request submitted by CLASSE, but is otherwise mainly cosmetic. Existing CLASSE documentation and procedures are still accurate.

Campus Network Outages: Two Sundays in January

Please see this CIT announcement for details on Managed Firewall upgrades in January 2021 that will disrupt network connectivity between CLASSE and off-campus locations, as well as internally between the CHESS Public and CLASSE Public networks. Brief outages will occur during these windows:

• Sunday, 10-Jan-2021, between 5:00 AM and 12:00 noon
• Sunday, 17-Jan-2021, between 5:00 AM and 12:00 noon

macOS Big Sur: Wait To Upgrade

Apple has recently released macOS version 11, known as Big Sur. CLASSE-IT and CIT are both recommending that Mac users should wait to upgrade their personal computers to macOS Big Sur. CLASSE-managed Macs will be upgraded only after we have thoroughly tested Big Sur and resolved any compatibility issues. In particular, Big Sur requires a new VPN solution for CLASSE (see here for details), which is currently under development.

New Mac VPN with Two-Step Login

For Mac users who have already upgraded to macOS Big Sur (see above), we are offering a trial version of our new Big-Sur-compatible VPN service, known as Pritunl (pronounced Pre-Tunnel). For enhanced security, our Pritunl deployment will include two-step login via Duo, which should be familiar to Cornell users (although a separate CLASSE registration will be required). To get started with this trial version, please submit a ServiceRequest.

Pritunl will be deployed to CLASSE-managed Macs when they are upgraded to Big Sur next year. For Windows and Linux users, there are no immediate plans to disable the current VPN server (OpenVPN).

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General network and server maintenance will occur every Tuesday from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM. The CLASSE-IT group will always announce any expected disruptions in our NewsLetter and via CLASSE-IT-NEWS-L, but with the size and complexity of our network there is always the potential for something to go wrong. We will do our best to contain all network maintenance and planned outages to Tuesdays from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM.

Unless other arrangements have been made, CLASSE-managed Windows systems may be updated and rebooted on Tuesday morning at 2:00 AM, so please avoid critical or lengthy operations at that time. For more details, please see SystemExpectations.

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Questions or problems? Submit a service request.

Other resources:

• CLASSE-IT Home Page
• Previous newsletters

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