Webmail out for 12 hours

Several Information and Access Technology Services programs, including e-mail service, stopped working for about 12 hours Sunday after a routine test of a backup generator failed.

By Jedd Rosche

Published March 14, 2006

Several Information and Access Technology Services programs, including e-mail service, stopped working for about 12 hours Sunday after a routine test of a backup generator failed.

Webmail stopped working Sunday morning shortly after 7:30 a.m. and was not repaired until around 8 p.m., IATS spokesman Terry Robb said.

"A little bit before 7, during our normal maintenance window, we were testing the generator at the data center," Robb said. "When transferring back to university power, the data center's uninterruptible power supply failed."

Robb said the UPS is a device used to continue operating the e-mail system during a power failure while a generator is charged to run the system.

"The UPS is very critical to maintaining power," Robb said.

"When power goes out, the UPS is just a huge battery. It holds all the power from the generator. When the generator has power, it move through the UPS to the equipment."

Robb said there was no power to operate the system for 20 minutes after the initial power failure and that the system lost power again while it was being repaired.

Robb said all IATS operating systems at the MU campus would not operate during the power failure.

"PeopleSoft and all of the management software failed," Robb said. "All IAT services were affected."

Robb said there was no damage to the contents of e-mail accounts.

"The authentication servers have to check credentials, and it was those services that were preventing you from accessing Webmail," Robb said.

Robb said the UPS was fixed by 3 p.m. and that Webmail was available again after 8 p.m. He said the disruption was not caused by Sunday's storm.