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Washington State University
Information Technology Services News

Microsoft Teams Chat to Open in Microsoft Edge Browser, Late September

In late September, Microsoft will introduce a new feature for the Microsoft Teams desktop application on Windows. The new feature will allow users to open web links from Teams chats in Microsoft Edge, offering a unified web and chat side-by-side experience directly within the browser.

Only links set to open via a web browser will be affected. Links that are set to open in a client app or within Teams itself will continue to do so. This change will also only apply to Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices; there will be no impact for the Teams desktop application on Mac.

Eliminating the need to switch between applications to view web content and continue virtual conversations, the Teams chat window will appear in the Microsoft Edge sidebar when Teams web links open in the browser. The Edge sidebar will also show recent chats and allow users to initiate new conversations. Please note that no other Teams functionality will be available on the Edge sidebar with this upcoming change.

When Microsoft enables this feature, the Teams desktop application on Windows will automatically set Microsoft Edge as the default browser for opening web links. This will not affect a device’s default browser setting in Windows for other applications.

Users, however, will continue to have flexibility in selecting their preferred browser for opening Teams links and can decide whether they want to maintain the current link flow with browsers like Google Chrome or Firefox or opt into the new Edge-Teams experience at any time. To assist with this, Teams will offer a new setting configuration for enabling or disabling the feature: Open Teams on Windows > Settings > Files and links > Link open preference > Select desired browser from the dropdown menu.

With the new feature rollout in Teams for Windows, WSU users will be able to easily access, read, and respond to messages and shared web content without disruptive task switching. The new integration between Microsoft Edge and Teams will enhance workflow and help users stay engaged in collaborative conversations while browsing the web, facilitating a smoother virtual experience.

Tentatively scheduled in late September, there may not be additional advance notification prior to implementation. Information Technology Services (ITS) asks that you please review the following support documentation prior to late September to learn more about the new feature and best assist WSU users with this change when it arrives:

Please contact Crimson Service Desk via email at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or phone at 509-335-4357 for any questions or concerns.

Confluence Maintenance, 9/22

Due to high priority security alerts, please see the following Information Technology Services (ITS) maintenance process:

Date: Friday, Sept. 22, 2023

Start Time: 8:00 p.m.
End Time: 11:00 p.m.

The following work is being completed: Confluence security updates

All affected groups: All Confluence users

Duration of impact: Confluence will not be available during the maintenance window.

Necessary follow up steps: None

Questions? Please contact Crimson Service Desk at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or 509-335-4357.

Unplanned Jira Maintenance, 9/20

Due to high priority security alerts, please see the following Information Technology Services (ITS) maintenance process:

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023

Start Time: 3:00 p.m.
End Time: 6:00 p.m.

The following work is being completed: Jira DNS record will be updated to a new IP address and use the F5 as a reverse proxy.

All affected groups: All Jira users

Duration of impact: No service interruption is anticipated; however, users may be requested to re-authenticate when the DNS record updates.

Necessary follow up steps: None

Questions? Please contact Crimson Service Desk at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or 509-335-4357.

Jira Upgrade, 9/29

On Friday, Sept. 29, Information Technology Services (ITS) will upgrade Jira to the Long Term Support release 9.4.9. Upgrading provides security, stability, and performance enhancements. This change will occur during the services’ regularly scheduled maintenance window of 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, to 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1.

During this maintenance window, Jira will be inaccessible. Once completed, this change is expected to have minimal impact on users.

Leading up to this scheduled maintenance, users are encouraged to test the updated version of Jira at https://tstjira.esg.wsu.edu/. Please note that the data in tstJira will be different than in production.

If there are any questions or concerns regarding this upcoming change, please contact Crimson Service Desk at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or 509-335-4357.

Canvas Maintenance, 9/21

Please see the following scheduled Information Technology Services (ITS) maintenance process:

Date: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023

Start Time: 1:05 a.m.
End Time: 3:05 a.m.

The following work is being completed: Canvas will be performing a brief maintenance and WSU users may not be able to access Canvas during the maintenance window.

All affected groups: All Canvas users

Duration of impact: Interruption is only expected to last up to fifteen minutes during the event, but the entire maintenance window may be utilized if needed.

All affected processes: Canvas access

Necessary follow up steps: None

Questions? Please contact Crimson Service Desk via email at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or phone at 509-335-4357.

Pullman Border Firewall Maintenance, 9/7

Information Technology Services (ITS) will perform unplanned maintenance on the Pullman Border firewall on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Although the entirety of this maintenance window is reserved for this work, ITS is expecting to see a complete internet outage lasting from 5-10 minutes around 4 a.m.

This maintenance has the potential of impacting internet services across the WSU system that may rely on any of Pullman’s infrastructure that will be worked on tomorrow morning.

Please contact Crimson Service Desk via email at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or phone at 509-335-4357 for any questions or concerns.

Quarterly Network Maintenance

Please see the following scheduled Information Technology Services (ITS) maintenance process:

Please review the maintenance dates for any potential conflicts your area has for scheduled, mandatory work, and share feedback during Network/Firewall Office Hours via Zoom (Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) by Sept. 4..

Date: Sunday, Sept. 17 – Thursday, Sept. 21
Start Times: Please see schedule below.
End Time: Please see schedule below.

The following work is being completed: ITS is implementing a quarterly network infrastructure upgrade process to address security and bug fixes. This quarter’s updates will follow the schedule below. Network service interruptions are expected during the highlighted timeframes:

CategoryTimeSept. 17Sept. 18Sept. 19Sept. 20Sept. 21
SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday
Access Layer Switches (Campus)10 p.m. – 6 a.m.
(Overnight starting on day listed)
Holland DistFSHN Dist, Sloan DistITB DistNeill Dist
Access Layer Switches (ResNet)4 a.m. – 6 a.m.Group 1Group 2Group 3
APs (Campus & ResNet)4 a.m. – 6 a.m.APs
Distribution Switches, Core Switches, and Core Routers4 a.m. – 6 a.m.Sloan CoreBorder SwitchITB Core, ITB Core RouterSloan Core Router, ResNet Dist
GPON OLTs/ONTs (Campus)10 p.m. – 2 a.m.Holland OLT/ONTsFSHN OLT/ONTsNeill OLT/ONTsITB OLT/ONTs
(Overnight starting on day listed)
GPON OLTs/ONTs (ResNet)4 a.m. – 6 a.m.ResNet, Group 4
Firewall Operating System4 a.m. – 6 a.m.Pullman Campus
Global Protect Clients4 a.m. – 6 a.m.VancouverAll other sites
Service Accounts that run network infrastructure (e.g., wireless authentication)4 a.m. – 6 a.m.All sites

**List of all buildings fed from each Dist (distribution) and ResNet groupings is available below.**

» More …

Emergency Pullman Border Firewall Maintenance, 8/22

Information Technology Services (ITS) received an emergency service request that will be executed on the Pullman Border firewall on Tuesday, August 22 from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. No outage is expected during the two-hour maintenance window.

While no outage is anticipated, ITS is treating this with the utmost of caution.

myWSU Outage, 9/9

Please see the following scheduled Information Technology Services (ITS) maintenance process:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023
Start Times:  8:00 a.m.
End Time:  10:30 a.m.

The following work is being completed: ITS’ support vendor will be applying Critical Patch Updates to the myWSU environment. During this maintenance period, myWSU will not be accessible.

All affected groups: myWSU users

All processes affected: myWSU access

Duration of impact: Up to two and half hours

Follow up steps customers need to take: None

Contact: Please contact Crimson Service Desk via email at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu, phone at 509-335-4357, or online at crimsonservicedesk.wsu.edu with any questions regarding this scheduled outage.

Tony Opheim named ITS vice president and chief information officer

Tony Opheim Information Technology Services vice president and chief information officer

Following a six-month stint as interim vice president and chief information officer of WSU Information Technology Services, Tony Opheim is taking on the role in a permanent capacity.

Opheim’s first official day leading ITS without the interim distinction is today, Aug. 1.

“Having grown up in land grant institutions and with this being what I wanted to do since I was 12, it’s an honor and a privilege to be in this position,” he said. “My organization and I are here to serve this vital institution, to make sure students are able to grow and thrive as well as ensure instructional and research faculty have the tools and infrastructure they need to do their important work.” » More …