Faculty.smu.edu and People.smu.edu Moving

Websites hosted on faculty.smu.edu and people.smu.edu will be migrated to a new server during the month of March. The current server has reached the end of life and must be replaced. The new server will be running the latest OS from Microsoft which no longer supports FrontPage Server Extensions or editing directly on the server. This will require several changes regarding the editing process for websites as well as some of the FrontPage special features such as forms.

A few of the key changes are

• No longer able to update web pages directly on the web server
• No more FrontPage generated features such as database forms, page hit counters, photo galleries and table of contents
• Explicit SSL/TLS protocol is required to upload files (FTPS).

Instead of editing directly on the server, webpages will need to be downloaded locally and edited on the computer. Once the file is ready to publish, the file can be uploaded to the server using an FTPS client. This Explicit FTP functionality is not included in FrontPage, SharePoint Designer, or Dreamweaver. OIT is currently testing various Free FTPS clients and will make a recommendation and provide instructions for using this client.

OIT is currently identifying those faculty or people sites that have a compatibility issue with the newer server environment. IT will work with the site owners to provide solutions throughout the conversion process. Instructions will be posted on the IT website outlining the new process for managing web pages on these servers.

Please note: http://smu.edu/ sites are NOT affected by this change. Only those sites on faculty.smu.edu or people.smu.edu are being converted.

If you no longer need your faculty.smu.edu or people.smu.edu site, please email help@smu.edu and request that it be removed.

The IT Help Desk is expanding!

During the Summer of 2009, IT began a partnership with CUL to provide a team of student workers in the library to provide technology support.  That partnership continues as our team of students serves in both Hamon and Fondren Library East.  We’ve decided to expand the services provided by these student resources to help augment our help desk and AV support on campus.

We’ve increased the number of student workers and now staff both the Help Desk in Blanton and Fondren Library West.  All students are part of one central team and receive the same training.  In an effort to provide evening and weekend support for basic computing issues, these students will be available to answer questions, assist with wireless configuration and other services.  Currently, they will be available for walk up traffic only.  They will soon be available via online chat!  Evening and weekend support is provided in Fondren Library West near the 103B/C labs.   The students will provide assistance with the following:

• Password issues
• Wireless configuration
• Residence Hall Network troubleshooting/Registration
• Email configuration
• Classroom support assistance
• General questions about IT services.

Evening hours are Monday through Friday from 5:00-9:00pm.  Saturday from 9-5 and Sunday 9-9.  We will further develop this pilot program throughout the semester. 

WordPress

The SMU Blog server (blog.smu.edu) has been upgraded and is now using WordPress. WordPress is the industry leader in blog technology and offers a wide array of functionality. All new blogs will be created on WordPress. Existing blogs on Movable Type will be migrated to the new server during the Spring semester.

To request a new blog, visit http://help.smu.edu.