FROM THE CIO

Malcolm Rice

Service Level Agreement (SLA):

OIT has recently developed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of our technology support services.

The SLA serves as a formal commitment from OIT, outlining specific timelines for response and resolution to ensure a more predictable and satisfactory experience for our campus community.

SLA Terms:

Priority Levels: The SLA defines different priority levels based on the nature and urgency of reported incidents or service requests. This allows us to allocate resources effectively and address critical issues promptly.

Response Time: The SLA specifies the timeframe within which you can expect an initial response to your tickets.

Resolution Time: Guidelines are provided regarding the resolution of reported incidents.

For detailed information on the terms and conditions of our SLA, click here.

OIT Device Support:

It is often time-consuming and a security risk to attempt to support aging UAH-owned devices. Each year, OIT evaluates the current technologies and establishes a level of obsolescence. Devices that are not fully supported will no longer be provided with replacement parts and software, and we will only provide extremely limited support on such devices.

With the decreasing cost of computer hardware and the increase in the number of computers on campus, it is often much more cost-effective for the university to replace obsolete equipment than attempt to repair or support it after the manufacturer or vendor no longer can. 

To give the campus time to replace any devices, enforcement will not begin until October 1, 2024. If you need assistance in determining the status of your device, please enter a ticket by sending an email to helpdesk@uah.edu.

For detailed information on our Device Support Standards, visit OIT Device Support.

Your Feedback Is Important:

As we roll out this SLA and the Device Support procedures, we encourage you to provide feedback. Your feedback helps us refine and improve our services to better meet the needs of our campus community.
 

  • Van Hudson, Help Desk Technician
  • Ryan Pounders, Software Developer I
  • Rhianna O'Reilly, Help Desk Technician

We are so happy to have you here, and wish you well in your careers!
 

Jeremy Shelley, CISO

Required Annual Cybersecurity Training Reminder

If you have not yet completed the annual cybersecurity training course on Canvas, please do so ASAP. The deadline for completion is December 1st.

Automated Application Patching on Primary UAH Domain

Beginning December 11th, OIT will begin automatically applying patches and updates to installed applications on Windows 10 and 11 systems in the primary UAH campus domain (DS domain). We have been testing this process within OIT, and on computers in the Nursing Department, Library, and the College of Engineering with no negative repercussions reported.

Our Cyberinsurance carrier has asked UAH to meet an aggressive patch schedule with critical vulnerabilities patched within 7 days.

This automatic patching will reduce the number of vulnerabilities on UAH systems, improving the security for the entire university.

How It Works

When a new patch for an application is made available, OIT will publish it to computers in the primary UAH campus domain (DS domain) to be downloaded within 7 days. For those rare application updates that require a restart of your computer, you will be prompted to restart your system and can choose to delay the restart by up to 5 days. 

You will see alerts like the one below on Windows 10 (the alerts for Windows 11 are similar).

These alerts are not indicative of a virus infection and are labeled with the UAH OIT logo. While these updates are a new process and the temptation may be to ignore these notifications, it is critically important that you allow these updates to be installed to avoid a forced installation at an inconvenient time.
 

CLIENT SERVICES

Wendy Worlund, Director

Reminders about Multi-Factor Authentication

Google 2-Step Verification is similar to but separate from Duo. Both utilize a second factor (commonly a mobile device) to add an extra layer of security to your UAH accounts. For any SSO systems like Canvas and myUAH, Duo is required. For any Google Workspace products like Gmail and Drive, you will use Google 2-Step. Keep reading for more examples.

Duo

Google 2-Step Verification
  • Gmail
  • Google Drive
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Docs, Slides, Sheets

Duo allows you to manage your devices easily and at any time. Please see https://uah.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2075/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=67315 for more information.

When adding an international phone number to Duo, add it as a Wi-Fi-only device.

No Email Client Required

Did you know that it’s not necessary to use a desktop application and locally store your email on your computer? You’ll see faster performance when using your mail and calendar if you switch from a desktop client (such as Microsoft Outlook) to a web-based app! We recommend using mail.uah.edu to access your UAH email. From there, you can access many Google apps (Calendar, Drive, and more). Please let us know if you have any questions.

Prevent Loss of Data

If you are a faculty or staff member, please make sure you’re backing up your UAH computer with CrashPlan. Visit https://chargerware.uah.edu/all-software/crashplan to get started.

Install the Software You Need

Most UAH faculty & staff members can install approved software products even if they do not have an administrator login to their computer. Read our article about how to do this here.

Students are included in what software products are available in Chargerware. Please visit chargerware.uah.edu for more information.

Physically Secure Your Device 

The holiday season often brings on more lost devices (misplaced or stolen). To help prevent theft and unauthorized access, make sure that a PIN or password is required to access your device. Also, never leave your laptop or mobile device unattended in a public place, and lock your devices when not in use. Use caution when leaving a device in a car; take all valuables inside or at least hide them from plain view.

Losing your device could contribute to identity theft as well. Please secure the data on your device (whether it’s someone else’s or your own). Add your mobile device to your cloud account so you can find it or remotely wipe it if lost or stolen:

Find, lock, or erase your lost Android device

Get started with Apple's "Find My"
 

To view the current list of OIT projects, please visit the OIT Project Site. 
 

How to Reach OIT

Did you know that you can reach out for technical support from OIT via several channels? See shortcuts to them all in our Client Portal at uah.edu/ithelp. The Client Portal offers forms, ticket history, Knowledge Base articles, and more!

1. Call 256-824-3333 for remote help 24/7/365.

2. Chat with an agent 24/7/365 using this link.

3. Use our Chatbot, called ITChat (click the message bubble in the bottom right corner of the ITChat page).

4. Send an ehttps://www.uah.edu/oit/contactmail to helpdesk@uah.edu. We respond to emails during Help Desk Hours (weekdays when UAH is open; 8:00 am to 5:00 pm).

5. Visit us at the OIT Help Desk, which is located inside the M. Louis Salmon Library.
 

  • When submitting a ticket to the helpdesk for an error message you received on your computer, include a picture of the error message and the date and time you received it. You can easily copy the image by pressing the s/windows/shift keys on your keyboard and then pasting (ctrl v) it into your ticket.
 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Mike Turner, Director

The Network Team is currently evaluating several new vendors of wireless access points for potential future use at UAH. The current plan is to deploy Aruba access points in Spragins Hall and Charger Village Food Court as well as Juniper Mist access points in the cafeteria and VBH OIT areas. These new access points have the latest 802.11 standards enabled, supporting 2.4, 5, and 6GHz wireless connections (devices supporting the 6E standard). Utilizing these access points will be seamless to the users (they will still broadcast UAH Get Connected and Eduroam SSIDs).

Please continue to utilize only the Eduroam and UAH Get Connected SSIDs, as the Faculty5, Student5, and Staff5 networks will be removed from our broadcast soon. 

The Infrastructure Team has been working to make several enhancements to the overall fiber infrastructure that connects UAH to the outside world. We have added a second Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Add/Drop node in the Library, bringing the total number of units to two on campus, and significantly improving our redundancy and resiliency. We are currently working with both Alabama A&M and Alabama Super Computer to enable additional external connections, further improving our external redundancy. 
 

QUICK LINKS

Let us know if there is a topic you would like OIT to cover by sending an email to oit@uah.edu.