Plan ahead for weekly, monthly & semester maintenance
We are pleased to share the updated maintenance schedule for Blackboard, reflecting both healthy maintenance and scheduled upgrade activities.
Previously, UMBC scheduled downtime downtime for monthly server updates and planned major software updates once per year. Our revised schedule ensures an overall system roadmap of consistent quality checks to address audit fixes, tool tweaks, and core updates with minimal or reduced disruption of service for the majority of our users.
When: Weekly, Friday mornings, 2 AM - 6 AM
Why: Routine data center maintenance
What happens: No downtime. In a rare scenario, users could notice minor connectivity issues. We advise students to save their work frequently and avoid taking tests if possible.
When: Monthly, Saturday mornings, 2 AM - 5 AM
Why: Updates to core tools and services as required by Blackboard
What happens: No downtime, yet requires a rolling restart. Users should not notice any disruption in service, but we advise students to save their work frequently and avoid taking tests if possible.
When: Twice per semester, Saturday mornings, 2 AM - 5 AM
Why: Audit fixes, cumulative updates as required by Blackboard.
What happens: Typically 3-hours downtime. Users will be unable to access the system during this maintenance window.
When: Twice per year, usually between major semesters (May / December). Date to be posted at least 30 days in advance.
Why: Major updates as required by Blackboard
What happens: Typically 15-hours of downtime. Users will be unable to access the system during this maintenance window.
The UMBC Blackboard team makes every effort to identify a day and time period that should have the least impact on our users. We also attempt to notify the campus at least 5 days in advance of short downtimes; however, at times unanticipated maintenance windows are necessary to address important updates for optimal system performance.
During the Spring semester, UMBC's Blackboard site benefited from a 99.99% uptime. Planning ahead with routine application updates and server check-ups helps maintain our Blackboard site. We appreciate your patience as we continue to improve our systems to bring you a better Blackboard experience.
UPDATED JULY 2017:
Following the migration to Blackboard's cloud services, the major software updates that occur twice a year should no longer require lengthy downtimes. Some tools and services may be slower to respond as those backend processes restart across supporting servers. On a rare occasion during these biannual updates, Blackboard may take the system down for 1-2 hours for infrastructure updates.
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Posted: August 21, 2015, 12:44 PM
