IT issues update

25 Oct 2021

Issues with IT integration

Latest update: 4.05pm, Thursday 18 November

After extensive work, the widespread issues with regard to the processing of student applications have been resolved, and the small number of remaining issues are being dealt with on an individual basis.

Update: 2.50pm, Friday 12 November

The issue with 1med has been resolved
Work on the issue relating to student applicants will continue next week.

Update: 1.40pm, Tuesday 9 November

We're working on an issue with regard to processing student applicants.
We're also aware of an issue with regard to 1med, and this is under investigation.
Due to the impact of the student application issue, this is being treated as our highest priority

Update: 3.30pm, Friday 29 October

Colleagues are making progress dealing with the data integration issues, however further work will need to take place over the next few days before we can consider the issue resolved.

Update: 4.45pm, Tuesday 26 October

Services are now returning - you should be able to access My Manchester and the Campus Solutions student system as normal.
There are still data integration issues with systems including Campus Solutions, IT Account Management, and our HR system. Teams continue to work to resolve these issues.

Update: 3.50pm, Tuesday 26 October

Investigations continue into the issues which are affecting access to My Manchester and the Campus Solutions student system.
In the meantime, Blackboard can be accessed at online.manchester.ac.uk, timetables can be accessed at timetables.manchester.ac.uk and email can be accessed at outlook.com/manchester.ac.uk.

Update: 1.10pm, Tuesday 26 October

We're noticing a repeat of yesterday's issues which are preventing people from accessing My Manchester and associated services. This is under investigation.

Update: 3pm, Monday 25 October

There are still data integration issues with systems including Campus Solutions, IT Account Management, our HR system, and Blackboard. Teams continue to work to resolve these issues.
The work to replace faulty equipment in our data centre on Saturday 23 October was successful. Impacted systems were checked on the day and again this morning and are operating as expected. The access issues to My Manchester this morning are believed unrelated.
The University's Wi-Fi service is stable and working as expected.

Update: 12.55pm, Monday 25 October

We identified an issue with My Manchester and now services are returning, however we are continuing to test and monitor to confirm it has returned to normal operation.
If you're already logged into My Manchester, click Log Out, and then log back in again.
If this doesn't work, you may need to try another web browser or clear your web browser's cache (log in to the IT Support Portal and search for browser cache).
If you are still experiencing issues after trying all the options above, please contact the IT Support Centre.

Update: 9.40am, Monday 25 October

We're aware of issues accessing My Manchester. While this is being fixed, students can still access their personal timetable by going directly to timetables.manchester.ac.uk, and access Blackboard by going directly to online.manchester.ac.uk.

Update: 3pm, Friday 22 October

There are still data integration issues with systems including Campus Solutions, IT Account Management, our HR system, and Blackboard. However, Blackboard user account and enrolment changes made up to 4pm on Weds 13 October will start to be reflected in Blackboard from this afternoon. Any user changes made after the 13 October will not appear until a complete fix has been implemented.
The work to replace faulty equipment in our data centre yesterday (21 October) was unsuccessful. This work has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday, 23 October between 10am and 11am. During this time, the following systems will be unavailable for approximately 20 minutes while the work completes: HR and Finance system, webMethods and Calopus (data integration tools). IT colleagues supporting these systems have informed affected teams.
Unrelated to the above, a change to the University's Wi-Fi service last night was successful. Network colleagues are on campus today to monitor connectivity.

Update: 2.30pm, Thursday 21 October

There are still data integration issues with systems including Campus Solutions, IT Account Management, our HR system, and Blackboard.
These issues mean that accounts are not being created in the HR system for new starters and accounts are not being created or disabled in Blackboard.
Any changes to courses and enrolments made in Campus Solutions after 4pm on Wednesday 13 October will not reflect in Blackboard or the University's Video Portal until the issues are resolved. This issue also affects a small number of new students (anyone not enrolled before 4pm on Wednesday 13 October) trying to access content on the Video Portal.
Work to resolve is ongoing. No data will be lost – data updates are being held in a processing queue and once the integration issues are resolved they will take some time to process.
Faulty equipment in our data centre is scheduled to be replaced today at 4pm. There is not expected to be any end user impact resulting from this work, however HR and finance systems will be running 'at risk' between 4 and 7pm. IT colleagues supporting HR systems and finance systems have informed affected teams.
Unrelated to the above, a change to the University's Wi-Fi service is scheduled to be made between 6pm and 7pm tonight. This is to remove the temporary workaround that was put in place during the recent issues. We are able to remove this workaround due to the successful deployment of a permanent fix last weekend. There is not expected to be any end user disruption as a result of this change. Network colleagues will be monitoring connectivity throughout.

Update: 12.30pm, Wednesday 20 October

Access to services has returned to normal. Campus Solutions is available however data integration with systems including IT Account Management and Blackboard is paused while our teams work to resolve issues. In both systems new accounts are not being created and existing accounts are not being updated. Work to resolve is ongoing. No data will be lost – data updates are being held in a processing queue and once the integration issues are resolved they will take some time to process.
A replacement part has been sought for faulty network equipment in our data centre. A plan for replacing this is being drawn up and the work may take place later today – no end user disruption is expected, however HR and finance systems will be running 'at risk' while the work takes place. Local communications will be sent to HR and finance system users once a plan is agreed.
Colleagues are continuing to monitor services closely.

Update: 5pm, Tuesday 19 October

Access to Incline, a system used by researchers, was successfully restored around 3pm.
Our IT teams are working through some data integration issues between internal systems. Data updates for some systems are currently being held in a processing queue and once the data integration issues are resolved they will take some time to process.
A replacement part has been sought for network equipment in our data centre. A plan for replacing this is being drawn up – no end user disruption is expected when the part is replaced.
Colleagues will continue to monitor services closely.

Update: 2.40pm, Tuesday 19 October

IT Services working with network partner Roc Technologies has pinpointed the issue in our data centre. Connectivity is returning and you should now be able to access shared drives and P: drives as normal. We need to do some further work to restore access to Incline, a system used by researchers, and this is scheduled to take place at 3pm today. Colleagues will continue to monitor services closely.
The Oracle Financials finance system and HR systems are reported to be working as expected.
Performance testing is taking place for the anticipated release of new Application and Admissions functionality and processes (part of our Student Experience Programme) later today. Campus Solutions remains unavailable at this time.

Update: 9.40am, Tuesday 19 October

IT Services continue to investigate and problem solve to restore access to services affected by our data centre issue.
A multi-disciplined team is investigating the root cause of the issue in our data centre.
Work to move the Oracle Financials finance system to a different data centre completed as planned this morning. Further investigation is needed to determine whether this was successful.
Work is taking place to examine the network configuration of our Campus Solutions Student System to allow for the anticipated release of new Application and Admissions functionality and processes (part of our Student Experience Programme) later today. Campus Solutions remains unavailable at this time.

Update: 6pm, Monday 18 October

IT Services continue to investigate and problem solve to restore access to services affected by our data centre issue.
Access to shared drives and P: drives is still an issue for some staff and students. All staff and students should however be able to access their P: drive via a web browser – or by logging in to My Manchester and choosing the ‘My documents’ option under the ‘Tools’ menu.
The issue with a number of students losing access to their accounts has been identified and is in the process of being resolved.
The upgrade of our campus solutions student system - part of a planned release of new Application and Admissions functionality and processes as part of our Student Experience Programme - has recommenced. Campus Solutions remains unavailable while this takes place - we anticipate it will remain unavailable until lunchtime tomorrow (Tuesday 19 October) at the earliest but will provide a further update when we are clearer.
Oracle Financials will be unavailable between 7am and 7.30am tomorrow morning. All users have been notified of this planned downtime.
Unrelated to the data centre issues, work was completed on Saturday 16 October to fully resolve the Wi-Fi issues that we’ve experienced across campus recently. This work was successful. Additional work was due to place tonight (Monday 18 October) to remove a previous workaround for Wi-Fi connectivity, but to reduce the risk of any impact given the ongoing issues with our data centre, this has been postponed.
Next update: Approx. 9.30am, Tuesday 19 October.

Update: 1.15pm, Monday 18 October

Access to Oracle Financials has been restored, apart from a small number of users.
We have successfully moved some services from one data centre to another and the upgrade of our campus solutions student system has recommenced. This upgrade was scheduled to take place this weekend and was part way through when the data centre issue occurred.
We still have access issues to shared drives and P: drives and a number of other systems – we are currently testing workaround fixes to restore access as soon as possible. We advise using OneDrive where possible.
We are aware of an issue with a number of student accounts losing access. This is being investigated and believed unrelated to the data centre issue.

Original message

We are assessing exactly which services are affected but so far we are aware of issues with accessing shared drives and P: drives, Oracle Financials, Incline and with Campus Solutions.

Some of these services will be accessed through other applications, for example information about courses may present incorrectly through My Manchester or Blackboard, or applications that rely on shared or P:drives may not be able to access data.

The issue has delayed this morning’s planned release of new Application and Admissions functionality and processes - a major milestone in the delivery of the Student Experience Programme.

On-campus Wi-Fi including Eduroam is not affected.

We are currently working on a plan to move affected services to a different data centre which should partially restore some services.

If you cannot access a system or service not mentioned above please report it to the IT Support Centre using the IT Guest Portal:

Visit the IT Guest Portal, click Request Support and then Report Issue.
On the form, include “DC-” followed by the system that is impacted in the Summary line

We’ll provide further updates when we have them.