RE: EMERGENCY OUTAGE: Blackboard Performance Progress Report/Update (2/7)

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO ME?

A serious performance problem has impacted Blackboard service for an extended
period, but Information Technology Services (ITS) thinks it can now take steps
to improve that performance.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO IMPROVE BLACKBOARD PERFORMANCE?

Since our last update on January 28, and after working closely with the
Blackboard technical team, the Cal Poly support team believes it has the
information needed to resolve the current Blackboard performance issue.

For the past week, ITS staff have continuously monitored the Blackboard system
and worked quickly to minimize and reduce the impact of any performance
deterioration. 

Working together, the ITS and Blackboard technical teams were able to duplicate
the performance problem on a test server.  Based on that, Blackboard
recommended changing certain system settings.  These changes were successfully
tested over the weekend and are believed to fix or improve performance when
applied to Blackboard. 

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME? -- EMERGENCY OUTAGE REQUIRED

To implement the new settings, ITS must take down the Blackboard application
and database servers from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. TODAY, Monday, February 7, and from
2:00 to 3:00 a.m. TOMORROW, Tuesday, February 8. 

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

Please continue to email mailto:blackboardsupport@calpoly.edu if you need to
report major performance delays. Please include the type of computer and
browser, your location (home, office, lab), and how long it took to access a
page in Blackboard. This information has been very helpful in pinpointing
performance issues, and we appreciate your taking the time to keep us posted.

We regret any inconvenience this problem may have caused. We appreciate your
patience as we update you on progress toward resolving this problem.


Sincerely,
The Blackboard Support Team