From: Brian.Cohen@mail.cuny.edu
 Sent: 05/01/2009 11:31 PM EDT
 To:  ... CMS-ADMIN@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU .....
 Subject: Blackboard 8.0 Status Update

Dear Colleagues:

In my Blackboard 8.0 status update yesterday I reported that over the next 24-48 hours our primary activities will be the simultaneous transfer of the data to a physical media source that will be sent to Blackboard and the electronic transfer of the data to blackboard via a secure file transfer protocol.  In order to carry out these activities it was decided to keep the system unavailable so that a crash of the system would not hamper these critical next steps to using a hosted environment.  

It had been decided that the Online BA program would be the first program to be provided access to the hosted environment.  This access is expected to be provided sometime between late Saturday and midday Sunday.  Completed activities include:

The successful archiving and transferring to the Blackboard, Inc hosted environment all course data for the Online BA program and,
the configuration of the network, authentication and single sign-on tools needed for login to the hosted
system. The CIS team is now focused on configuring the hosted system to look like the CUNY system and installing the building blocks that our students and faculty have been using throughout the semester.  Finally, testing of the system and data validation over the next 24 to 36 hours will help to validate our readiness to provide access to the system.  

The following activities have also occurred to restore access to the Blackboard 8.0 system by all our Colleges and programs. Installed
a new network storage device that will support the transfer and synchronizing of data between the CUNY and Blackboard, Inc data centers,
Commenced the file copy process of the CUNY data to the new storage device, which is expected to complete early in the day on Saturday,
Continued the effort to electronically transfer the same files via a secure electronic file transfer process,
Created draft system materials and access documentation that will support campuses/programs in its communication activities, and
Reviewed security and confidentiality issues and agreements so as to best protect the integrity of the University's data.
Additionally, we have arranged for a courier service to be available to transport the storage device to Virginia as soon as the file copy process is completed.  The device should arrive in Virginia on Saturday.   Blackboard, Inc's staff is standing by to immediately to install the device and load all the University course data.  We will have a better sense of the timeline for the next steps, including when users will be able to login to system, once Blackboard has completed the data load.  

Finally, once the file copy process at the CUNY data center is completed, the Blackboard Response Team will focus its efforts on restoring access to the system and keeping it stabilized even though it will be a temporary solution until the Blackboard hosted system comes online.

I will continue to keep you informed of progress as more steps are completed and more information is available.

Brian Cohen
Associate Vice Chancellor and University CIO
City University of New York