August 18th, 2014
Today's topics:
CLASSE Managed Windows computers: Firefox update tonight
We will be updating Firefox to ESR 24.7.0, including Flash and Java updates, during the normally scheduled updates tonight. This is just a security update with no functional changes.
CLASSE Managed Windows computers: ESR31 Firefox update in September
In the next month or so we will be scheduling a deployment of the next
major Firefox ESR release, ESR31. This update will bring changes in its user interface and in its functionality. If you use Firefox 31 at home, you already know about the new user interface. We will be providing a custom configuration that we hope will ease the migration from the old to the new user interface. If you have questions or have specific sites or services which need to be tested, please open a service request. We do test the major common CLASSE services.
MATLAB license server changes
lnxlm.classe.cornell.edu is now serving Matlab network licenses that are valid for the next year (until 31 August 2015). Network-licensed Matlab 2013a installations will continue to work from now until the end of August next year.
Please submit a service request if you are using an older version of Matlab or if your computer is using a standalone license. A member of the CLASSE IT Group has to manually update license information on Windows computers runnhing other network-licensed versions or standalone-licensed copies of Matlab .
pc176.classe.cornell.edu will stop serving Matlab network licenses in 8 days, on
Tuesday, 26 August 2014. Note that this is 5 days earlier than the expiration date in warning messages issued when you start up copies of Matlab that are about to expire.
If you are being warned that your copy of Matlab will expire at the end of this month, it will NOT launch after Tuesday, August 26. Send email to
service-classe@cornell.edu if your copy of Matlab is about to expire and you need it to keep running past August 26.
Update to Scientific Linux 6.5 on August 19th.
On Tuesday, August 19, all CLASSE SL6 linux systems will be updated to SL6.5. This should be a transparent update to address bugs in SL6.4.
CESR Linux Cluster update on August 19th.
The CESR Linux Cluster will be updated to SL6.5 along with the rest of the lab. Starting at 10AM, CESR Linux Cluster members will be rebooted, one at a time, to pick up the updated kernel. Other than brief pauses when services are migrated between cluster members, there should be no disruption to CESR services. Announcements will be made over the beam phone before each CESR Cluster member is rebooted.
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.
Questions or problems? Submit a service request.
Other resources: