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Service status

CURRENT ISSUES

sporadic internet disconnection issue

  • Updated as of 09:30 Thursday 23rd March: we are continuing to monitor the network to gather evidence when an outage event occurs.
  • Raised as of 09:00 Wednesday 22nd March
  • We are currently investigating a sporadic issue whereby the college network loses connection to the internet.
  • This happens 2 or 3 times a day and may last for 3 to 4 minutes - most instances appear to be outside of college work and teaching times, so the impact to date on students and staff has been minimal.
  • It will affect both outbound and inbound data traffic (for example dropping from VPN or being unable to login to some college services).
  • This appears to be outside our infrastructure and we have escalated this to our network partners to investigate as a matter of urgency.
  • We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

issues with the micollab Browser-based Phone client (webRTC)

  • Update as of 10:00 (9/3/2023)
  • Telephony services using Micollab via a browser (WebRTC) are generally unavailable.
  • This issue has been escalated to our support partners and a fix has been identified.
  • The fix will be included in a general upgrade that is scheduled to be installed early morning on Tuesday 28th March.
  • In the interim, please make use of the installed Micollab softphone application.
  •  
  • All other telephony services (Micollab softphone, physical handsets, voicemail, contact centre, etc) are working as expected.

Long-term issues

There are no long-term issues.

UPCOMING PLANNED MAINTENANCE

PLANNED MAINTENANCE - Weekly every TUESDAY Morning between 06.00 am and 10.00 am

  • Tuesday mornings between 6am and 10am is the ‘at risk’ period where we undertake general maintenance and updates.
  • During this period services are considered at risk and might be unavailable for short periods. Other scheduled maintenance will be noted below.
  • Please Note: if any maintenance is expected to have an impact on students or staff, it will be noted below.

 

Planned downtime - Telephony services, alarm testing and notifications - 28 March 2023

  • Please be aware that IT Services, along with our Telephony partner, Mitel, will be carrying out an essential upgrade of the colleges Micollab telephony application, (browser version), on 28 March 2023, which will result in some downtime, and disruption, for short periods, affecting telephony services, as well as alarm testing and alarm notifications.
  • Telephony Migration – Tuesday 28th February 2023 – 07:00am – 10:00am
  • During this time, access to telephony services, and alarm notifications and testing may be interrupted for short periods
  • Please note, these works may also have an impact on students in addition to staff
  • Should you have any questions, or queries, please contact or phone 0203 926 3431

RESOLVED and COMPLETED

VPN CONNECTION ISSUE

  • Resolved as of 10:30 on Thursday 23rd March
  • As of Thursday 23rd March 09:00
  • We are currently investigating an issue whereby neither of the centrally managed VPN's are working.
  • We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

RESOLVED - ISSUES WITH INBOUND EXTERNAL EMAIL

  • 11:45 this is now resolved
  • In-bound mail was queued - no mail will have been lost
  • 09:45 Thursday 9th March
  • We are currently investigating an issue with in-bound external email.
  • At the moment this is not being delivered.
  • Updates will follow as we have further details.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

RESOLVED - ISSUES WITH FORUMS, ANNOUNCEMENT EMAILS AND QUICKMAIL NOT SENDING FROM MOODLE SINCE MONDAY 27 FEB 2023 AT 3.49PM UNTIL 6.23PM

  • We are aware of an issue where forum email notifications and Quickmail emails are not being sent from Moodle.
  • We are investigating this as a matter of urgency with our Moodle hosts and will update here as soon as the issue is resolved.
  • Please use email lists from Guru (sent via BCC) as a workaround in the meantime.

resolved - EXPECTED DOWNTIME AFFECTING TELEPHONY SERVICES AND ALARM TESTING AND NOTIFICATIONS ON 28TH FEBRUARY 2023

  • The migration has been completed - there is one outstanding issue (please see Current Issues, above).
  • Please be aware that IT Services will be carrying out an essential migration of the college’s telephony services on the date, and time listed below:
    • Telephony Migration – Tuesday 28th February 2023 – 07:00am – 10:00am
  • During this time, access to telephony services, and alarm notifications and testing may be interrupted for short periods.
  • Please note, these works may also have an impact on students in addition to staff.
  • Should you have any questions, or queries, please contact Azmol Meah, Project Manager in IT Services (contact details available via the Staff Directory or Microsoft 365)

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - BIRKBECK BLOGS NETWORK - MONDAY 27 FEB 23 ONWARDS

  • Please be aware that we are experiencing unplanned downtime with the Birkbeck Blogs network
  • This is being investigated
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused

RESOLVED - unplanned EMAIL ISSUE - WEDNESDAY 1ST FEBRUARY

  • This is now resolved - although it may take some time for the system to process queued emails.
  • Some email sent from external parties to some staff/students has been delayed in being delivered.
  • Depending on how the sending email system is configured, the systems should attempt to resend email, but that cannot be guaranteed.
  • There are two legacy mail servers that are still involved in the delivery of mail and one of these has had an issue that caused mail to be queued rather than being delivered. 
  • This issue has not been caused by Outlook, Exchange Online or Barracuda.
  • We believe we have identified the problem and that this is now resolved and mail is now flowing as expected.
  • To be clear, this problem relates to legacy hardware that we are working to remove from the mail processing system as quickly as possible.
  • I do apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you.

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED SERVICE DEGRADATION - TURNITIN FEEDBACK STUDIO - MONDAY 16 JANUARY 2023

  • There is currently degraded performance with Turnitin Feedback Studio, resulting in access issues and slowness when opening Similarity Reports, viewing and grading papers
  • This is currently under investigation and service will be restored as soon as possible
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

COMPLETED - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - TURNITIN AND GRADESCOPE - FROM 5PM ON SATURDAY 14 JANUARY UNTIL 1AM ON SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 2023

  • Please be aware that Turnitin will take an 8 hour maintenance window on Saturday, 14 Jan 2023 from 17:00 GMT to Sunday, 01:00 15 Jan 2023. 
  • Turnitin and Gradescope will be unavailable between these times.
  • Staff are advised to ensure there are no assignments set to complete within these times

Completed - PLANNED MAINTENANCE AFFECTING BMA - WEDNESDAY 4TH TO WEDNESDAY 11TH JANUARY 2023

  • Please be aware that OpenReach will be undertaking maintenance on one of the two fibre circuits that connect the BMA to the University network from Wednesday 4th to Wednesday 11th January.
  • Whilst we are not expecting any interruption to service, there is a small risk that network connectivity may be affected from time to time during this period.
  • If you are working in the BMA agile office space during this time, as a precaution, please save your work more frequently than normal.

COMPLETED - PLANNED MAINTENANCE IMPACTING MY BIRKBECK AND MY BIRKBECK FOR STAFF - TUESDAY 10 JAN 2023 - 5.45PM

  • Please be aware that there will be a brief period of scheduled maintenance impacting My Birkbeck and My Birkbeck for Staff on Tuesday 10 Jan 2023 from around 5.45pm for a few minutes
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - SOME PUBLIC-FACING WEB PRESENCES - 8AM TUESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2022 ONWARDS

  • We are aware of some unplanned downtime impacting a small number of WordPress sites and all sites on the www7 subdomain
  • This is due to a hardware failure that may take some time to resolve
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused

Completed - pLANNED MAINTENANCE - VPN ACCESS (old VPn) - 8:00AM TUESDAY 20TH 

  • The centrally managed "old" VPN service has now been upgraded to the latest version across the cluster of machines.

completed - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - VPN ACCESS (new vpn) - 7:00AM MONDAY 19TH DECEMBER

  • The centrally managed "new" VPN service has been successfully updated.
  • The telephone auto-attendant has been updated and the system is back in full operation.

completed - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - TELEPHONE SYSTEM update - 12PM (MIDNIGHT) 6TH DECEMBER TO 4AM WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER

  • The phone system has now been updated.
  • This update has been rescheduled to 12pm (midnight) on Tuesday 6th December.
  • Having consulted with the manufacturer, this update will be run again, starting at midnight on Tuesday 6th December and running through to approximately 4am  Wednesday 7th December.
  • Whilst the updates are being applied, there will be times during which calls will not be able to be made or received.
  • Depending on how they are configured, this may affect lift phones, freezer temperature monitoring, fire and intruder alarms.
  • Most buildings will be locked, and lifts will not be in operation. Additional security patrols are planned.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED EMAIL PROBLEM - MONDAY 5TH DECEMBER

  • External inbound and outbound email is now working.
  • Update: fully resolved at 18:20 for outbound email.
  • Update: fully resolved at 11:50 for inbound email.
  • Update 10:40 - the problem has been identified and is in the process of being rectified - although we don't have an ETA.
  • This is affecting outbound and inbound email to/from external addresses.
  • This is also affecting Moodle email i.e. forum announcements, Quickmail etc.
  • This is being investigated as a matter of urgency.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED - EDUROAM - ISSUES LOGGING IN - MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER

  • We are currently investigating a problem where some people are experiencing errors when logging in to EduRoam.
  • update: 15:05 - This as now been resolved.
  • Update: 15:00 - a fix has been put in place and is being tested - the service should be available shortly.
  • Update: 12:00 - a problem has been identified and is being worked on.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED - Planned downtime - Student records system (SITS) - 8am to 8pm Saturday 26 November 2022

  • From 8am until 8pm on Saturday 26 November 2022, SITS and associated systems will be unavailable.
  • Impacted systems include:
    • SITS
    • BSIS portal
    • eAdmission
    • GURU
    • Enrolment and applications processes
    • Areas of My Birkbeck that rely on SITS
  • These systems should be considered ‘at risk’ until the end of Sunday 27 November 2022. While we do not foresee difficulties, it would be advisable not to plan business critical activity that depends on the affected systems in this ‘at risk’ period, if that is at all possible.
  • My Birkbeck (excluding areas that rely on SITS), Moodle, Panopto and the Microsoft 365 suite will not be affected by this work.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - BIRKBECK BLOGS PLATFORM - FRIDAY 18 NOV 2022

  • There is currently unplanned downtime impacting the Birkbeck blogs platform
  • This is currently under investigation and service will be restored as soon as possible
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Closed - NOTIFICATION: DEPRECATION OF BASIC AUTHENTICATION AFFECTING OLDER EMAIL CLIENTS - 17TH OCTOBER 2022

  • This will not affect you if you are using a centrally provided Managed Laptop or centrally provided desktop PC.
  • Exchange Online requires everyone to be using email client software that supports and is configured to use "Modern Authentication" (such as Outlook 365).
  • "Modern Authentication" supports Multi-Factor Authentication as well as other security services to protect your data.
  • Up until now, Exchange Online has allowed older email clients to connect using the older and less secure "basic authentication".
  • Microsoft will be turning off "basic authentication" on or around 17th October 2022.
  • Any email clients that are still using "basic authentication" will not be able to send or receive email after this date.
  • If you are having problems - you can continue to read and send email by using the web browser version here: https://outlook.office365.com/owa
  • Please contact the IT Service Desk if you need help configuring the Microsoft Outlook email client on your devices.

CLOSED - NETWORK ISSUES - FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2022

  • UPDATE: As at 10:00 Monday 17th October - network appears to be stable, and systems appear to be working as expected.
    • The web site & prospectus are working correctly, as are My Birkbeck and access to SITS.
      • We are working with various suppliers to identify and resolve this issue.
      • There have been some reports of difficulty accessing the following for some students and staff:
        • My Birkbeck (without VPN)
        • My Birkbeck (with VPN)
        • SITS (with VPN)
        • Primary web site and Prospectus failing over to a static copy

resolved - unpLANNED ISSUE - ACCESS TO READINGS.BBK.AC.UK - MONDAY 03 OCTOBER 2022

  • This has been resolved (3/10/2022).
  • We are currently investigating problems for some users logging in to access documents on https://readings.bbk.ac.uk
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused

resolved - PANOPTO - PROBLEM LOGGING IN 28 SEPTEMBER 2022

  • this has been resolved 3/10/2022).
  • We are currently investigating a problem with logging in to the Panopto client software on PC's in Birkbeck teaching rooms. 
  • Until the problem is solved please use the following method:
    • from your browser, go to panopto.com 
    • login
    • Create > Panopto capture (record in browser).

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - WWW.BBK.AC.UK AND THE ONLINE PROSPECTUS – 21 SEPTEMBER 2022

  • During the 21st September 2022, starting at 7am the main Birkbeck website and the online prospectus will be undergoing essential planned maintenance.
  • Following this maintenance, the online prospectus will look different and the information found there will be organised differently.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED - AUTHENTICATION PROBLEM WITH MOODLE - 18 SEPTEMBER 2022

  • Currently there are problems accessing Moodle.
  • You should be able to login if you go via My Birkbeck.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - MY BIRKBECK, MY BIRKBECK FOR STAFF, ASK AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS – 07 SEPTEMBER UNTIL 09 SEPTEMBER 2022

  • During the 7th, 8th and 9th September 2022 My Birkbeck and associated systems will be undergoing essential planned maintenance.
  • While we anticipate that these systems will mostly function normally, users may experience periods of slowness or reduced performance during this maintenance window.
  • Impacted systems include:
    • My Birkbeck
    • Ask
    • Event Booking and events on www.bbk.ac.uk
    • “Apply now” links, enrolment links, prospectus requests and enquiry systems
    • Account Management systems (like password resetting)
    • Mitigating Circumstances system
  • This page will be kept up to date should anything change.
  • Moodle, Panopto and the Microsoft 365 suite will not be affected by this work.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - TABLEAU DATABASE AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS - 10.00AM UNTIL 3.00PM 05 SEPTEMBER 2022

  • Between 10am and 3pm on Monday 5th September the database that underpins Tableau and some other public-facing systems will be unavailable for planned maintenance work
  • Impacted systems will include:
    • Tableau (in that the data the system uses will not update during the day)
    • Events display on public-facing web pages
    • Provisional timetable links from the online prospectus
    • Oracle reports from the BSIS Portal
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this essential maintenance may cause.

COMPLETE - PHONE SYSTEM RESTART AT 21:00 23 AUGUST 2022

  • In order to apply some security patches, part of the phone system will be restarted at 21:00 on Tuesday 23rd August.
  • This will only affect those using the phone system via a laptop or mobile phone (i.e. it will not affect anyone on-site using a phone handset).
  • The disruption will be short whilst the component restarts.
  • We apologise for any disruption this may cause.

COMPLETE - OLD PHONE SYSTEM UNAVAILABLE - MONDAY 25 APRIL 2022

  • The old phone system failed on Saturday 23 April - This does not affect the new Mitel-based phone system.
  • This does affect:
    • some staff at Malet Street using the old telephone handsets (i.e. numbers in the range: 020 7631 6*** or 020 3073 8*** & 020 7079 0*** )
      • Staff workaround: staff can log in to the web-based Softphone service to make and receive calls - details on how to do this are on the "ITS Connect" SharePoint site (see "Phones" in the Services section). Please contact the ITS Helpdesk if any help is needed. 
      • Please note: if you miss a call, and the caller leaves a message, it will be emailed to you and will be in your Outlook InBox.
    • old phones in classrooms or for Corridor/door entry
      • These are being replaced
    • some emergency/monitoring lines
      • These are now all operational.
  • Anyone calling an old number will be redirected to the Auto Attendant. The caller can then ask for the recipient by name or department. The call will then be forwarded to the recipient's new Mitel phone number. If the recipient misses the call, the caller can leave a message which will then be emailed to the recipient and can be found in their main Outlook InBox.

COMPLETE - PLANNED DOWNTIME – MY BIRKBECK, MY BIRKBECK FOR STAFF, ASK AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS – 9PM TUESDAY 26 JULY 2022 UNTIL 9AM WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2022

  • From 9pm on Tuesday 26 July 2022 until 9am Wednesday 27 July 2022 My Birkbeck and associated systems will be unavailable for essential maintenance.
  • Impacted systems include:
    • My Birkbeck
    • Ask
    • Event Booking and events on www.bbk.ac.uk
    • “Apply now” links, enrolment links, prospectus requests and enquiry systems
    • Account Management systems (like password resetting)
    • Mitigating Circumstances system
  • This page will be kept up to date should anything change.
  • Moodle, Panopto and the Microsoft 365 suite will not be affected by this work.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED PARTIAL SERVICE - INBOUND EMAIL FROM EXTERNAL SENDERS - FROM 7AM TUESDAY 19 JULY 2022

  • We are aware of current partial service issues relating to email from external senders to internal recipients not arriving 
  • This is being investigated urgently
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - TURNITIN AND GRADESCOPE - SATURDAY 09 JULY BETWEEN 00.00AM AND 08.00AM

  • Please be aware that Turnitin will take an 8 hour maintenance window on July 9 00:00 – 08:00 BST.
  • Turnitin and Gradescope will be unavailable between these times.

Complete - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - PANOPTO UNAVAILABLE - SATURDAY 25TH JUNE 21:00 UNTIL SUNDAY 26TH JUNE 01:00

  • Please be aware that Panopto will be undertaking planned maintenance between 21:00 on June 25th and 2:00 on June 26th.
  • All elements of the Panopto service are expected to be unavailable between these times.
  • Users can check the current Panopto status here.

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - MAIN FIREWALL - 7AM UNTIL 9AM THURSDAY 23 JUNE 2022

  • Please be aware essential maintenance work will be commencing at 7AM Thursday 23rd June on the University's main firewall.
  • Although no downtime is expected, please be aware there's a possibility of disruption to internet access and some internal services between 7-9AM.

COMPLETE - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - TUESDAY 5 APRIL BETWEEN 07.00 AM AND 09.00 AM

  • Please be aware that essential maintenance work will be carried out on the University's main firewall during the ITS 'at risk' period on Tuesday morning 5 April, commencing at 7:00am.  
  • Although no downtime is expected, please be aware there is a possibility of disruption to internet access and some internal services between 7:00-9:00 am. 
  • A further notification will be sent once the work has been completed. 

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - ONLINE EVENTS LISTINGS AND PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE VIEW FROM THE PROSPECTUS - WEDNESDAY 08 JUNE 2022 11.20AM ONWARDS

  • We are currently experiencing unplanned downtime on online event listings and the view of the provisional timetables from the online prospectus
  • We are investigating this as a matter of urgency
  • Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - MY BIRKBECK AND MY BIRKBECK FOR STAFF - WEDNESDAY 08 JUNE 2022 11.20AM UNTIL 12.04PM

  • We are currently experiencing unplanned downtime on our My Birkbeck and My Birkbeck environments
  • We are investigating this as a matter of urgency
  • Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused

Completed - Planned maintenance – My Birkbeck for Staff - Sunday 3 April

  • My Birkbeck for Staff will be unavailable for a brief period on Sunday 3-April between 9pm and 9.30pm.
  • During this period it will be upgraded to the new look and feel that matches with our corporate website.

resolved - TURNITIN UNAVAILABLE - WEDNESDAY 6 APRIL

  • Turnitin was unavailable due to emergency maintenance. 
  • The emergency maintenance has been successfully completed and Turnitin is once again operational. 
  • Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. 

resolved - MOODLE FORUM EMAIL NOTIFICATION ISSUE - MONDAY 21 MARCH 2022

  • A few members of staff and students have reported not receiving Moodle forum email notifications since Thursday 17 March. 
  • This issue is now resolved.
  • Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. 

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED DOWNTIME - BUSINESS WORLD / UNIT4 ERP - WEDNESDAY 23 FEB 2022 FROM 4.20PM ONWARDS

  • Business World / Unit4 ERP is currently unavailable due to unplanned downtime
  • This has been raised with our suppliers as a matter of urgency
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused

RESOLVED - UNPLANNED UNAVAILABILITY - MAIN BIRKBECK TELEPHONE NUMBER AND ITS SERVICE DESK TELEPHONE NUMBER - FRIDAY 18 FEB 2022 FROM 3PM UNTIL 5.20PM

  • We are currently experiencing problems with our telephony system and two of the main numbers are currently unavailable, they are +44 (0)20 3926 3926 and +44 (0)20 3926 3456
  • This issue has been raised with our telephony supplier as a matter of urgency
  • In the interim you can continue to contact use at Birkbeck using Ask, our query management system: https://www.bbk.ac.uk/ask
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Completed - PLANNED MAINTENANCE - BLACKBOARD COLLABORATE – 00.00 (MIDNIGHT) UNTIL 04.00AM ON THUR 10TH FEB

  • Collaborate customers will experience intermittent availability during the maintenance window from 00.00 (midnight) until 04.00am on Thursday 10th February.
  • Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.