ALERTS!

On this page we try to list explanations for things that happened on the server or the network that you might not have expected. A very brief sketch of changes we plan to make is also provided. Read this document first, then call or e-mail us if you have questions.

Notice

LDAP Authentication

The SoM is moving to a new scheme for authenticating electronic services called "LDAP" (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol: there is a description of it here). In fact all of us have been using the SoM's LDAP services for years for directory information as part of e-mail. What is new is that we are now going to use the authentication service.

Getting yourself set up for LDAP authentication is trivial. Follow the link to the SoM's Password Page and enter your e-mail ID (Kerberos ID) and your e-mail password. Click "Submit". That is all, you're finished! (Behind the scenes this web tool re-sets your LDAP password (that you might not know you have) to your current e-mail password so that you will not notice a difference when we transition to LDAP for e-mail authentication.)

On the 1st July, we will start providing LDAP authentication for access to your e-mail on GCRC. If you have NOT set your LDAP password beforehand your regular e-mail password may fail; this won't be good for you or for us. Starting immediately, however, any new web services that the GCRC puts into place will use LDAP for authentication; after July 1st, all currently existing authentications will be switched to LDAP also.

This is not simply an attempt to annoy you all. The SoM is moving its services as well, albeit on a slower schedule, so fairly soon you will be able to use one ID (your Kerberos ID) and your LDAP password to log into nearly all services that the school provides. A BIG simplification.

E-Mail Mailing Lists

The GCRC is able to create mailing lists that GCRC users might need to support communication within groups such as committees and research groups. The mailing lists can be made private, which means that only the members can post to it, and a moderator, who can vet all postings, can be identified.

Mailing lists provide protection against spam, since non-members can't use them, and help protect your messages from being treated as spam on other systems. Membership of a mailing list isn't restricted to people who are part of NYU or users of the GCRC system: you can have anyone as a member of your list.

If you want more information, please contact Steven Aponte at the GCRC. He can get your list up and running quickly!

POP to go POP!!

It is time to move ahead to get rid of the POP protocol for e-mail from the GCRC's server. Yes, we said it before! but in the next couple of weeks we'll contact those using POP (that we see) and aim to work with you to switch either to another option in your existing mail client program, or to a client that will meet your needs. We hope to be finished by the end of August, 2004.

Incidents

Power Failure

[April 19, 2005] Power to the server was interrupted in the afternoon during an attempt to halt a minor flood in the room housing the server. One of the disks was damaged and the data on it had to be restored from backup. This task was completed at about 6am, Apr. 20th. At present it seems that only a few users have had their e-mail stores damaged. Please e-mail Steven Aponte if you have any problems.

Please report network problems (continuing or new) immediately to the HelpDesk at 3-HELP (3-4357). If you don't report it, it probably won't have any chance to be fixed. Sorry...

PreciseMail

[April, 2005] The new beta version of PreciseMail Anti-Spam is installed and working. Key changes have included the provision of an updated web interface to allow users to manage spam filtering. Anti-spam and anti-virus data is now updated automatically on an hourly basis. If you have not done so, read the information under the "e-mail" tab to the left, modify your personal anti-spam preferences and remember regularly to check for mail that is quarantined for you.

Planning Ahead

E-mail

The increased size of on-line mailboxes has made it very difficult to repair them in the case of any damage (such as the damage inflicted by a power failure). We will therefore move to new software to manage e-mail on the server, and will begin migrating users immediately.