Winter Closure 2008/09
On this page:
IT Services Plans for
Winter Closure 2008/09
Self-Help During Winter Closure
While we will provide reduced levels of support during winter closure, we encourage you to use our Stanford Answers site to get assistance.Stanford has decided to suspend operations, where feasible, during the winter holiday season. In support of this decision, IT Services will be closed from the end of day Friday, December 19, 2008 through Sunday, January 4, 2009. We will resume normal business operations effective Monday, January 5, 2009 at 8 a.m.
What does this mean? The majority of IT Services offices will be closed. A small number of staff will be on hand to support University offices that must remain open. These staff members will provide operator services, monitor and support critical applications, process high-priority service orders, and provide priority response to urgent HelpSU requests. Please note: You may experience longer-than-normal response times during this period.
Service Order Processing Cutoff Dates
for Orders Needed Prior to Winter Closure
Any voice orders received by Friday, December 5, 2008 will be scheduled on or before Friday, December 19. Any University voice orders received after December 5, 2008, will be scheduled beginning Monday, January 5, 2009. Any Stanford Hospital and Clinic orders received between Monday, December 8, 2008 and Friday, January 2, 2009 will be processed and scheduled as usual since they do not have a holiday shutdown period.
To place orders for service, please use our web portal at orderit.stanford.edu. To request changes to your building's extended Campus Card access door lock schedule, please submit a request via helpsu.stanford.edu.
Please make sure you have submitted the following types of service order requests no later than December 5, 2008 if you need to have the work completed prior to winter closure:
- Cell phone service orders
- All other service work order requests (non-project)
- Changes to your building's extended Campus Card access door lock
(these must be submitted using helpsu.stanford.edu).
Winter Closure Support Plans
General Support Expectations
A reduced number of IT Service Desk staff will be available Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. during the winter closure period. During the following days we will adhere to established weekend and holiday protocols, with no IT Service Desk staff on duty, but with the IT Operations staff monitoring critical systems and handling urgent repair issues.
- Wednesday, December 24
- Thursday, December 25
- Thursday, January 1
Support for Production and Infrastructure Applications,
Data Center Services
All production and infrastructure applications will continue to be available. IT Operations Center staff will monitor applications and data center operations to ensure they remain running. We will not apply upgrades, enhancements, or make non-emergency changes to applications. Note: Data Center orders will not be processed from December 19, 2008 through January 4, 2009, and Data Center hardware installation requests received after Friday, December 12 will be processed on a best-efforts basis before the closure.
Operator Services
Phone operator services will continue, uninterrupted, during the winter closure period. You may continue to phone 723-2300 (or 0 from a campus phone) to receive Stanford directory assistance service. Paging services to the Hospital also will continue as normal during this time.
Pager Administration
The Pager Administration Office walkup counter will be open as usual. On the three University designated holidays noted above, and after hours, you can pick up loaner pagers at the Stanford Hospital security office.
IT Service Desk (Computing and Order Assistance)
The IT Service Desk will operate with reduced staffing. Requests submitted via HelpSU will be monitored, with priority response given to urgent requests related to system outages. Responses to all other HelpSU requests will be handled as quickly as possible with reduced staffing, but could well experience longer-than-normal response times until we return to full staffing levels again on January 5, 2009. Some non-urgent issues might also be held until January 5. Please see the related web page "Other Campus Support Providers" for the support profiles of other groups. HelpSU requests to those groups will be handled according to each group's support profile.
Computer Resource Consulting Services
CRC Services will not be available. Clients with critical operational needs can make arrangements in advance for special coverage during this time. Please consult with your CRC contract manager for more information.
Reporting Critical Service Outages
or Requesting Emergency Repair
To Report a Critical Service Outage or to Request an Emergency Repair
If you need to report a critical service outage or request an emergency repair during this time, please submit a HelpSU request at helpsu.stanford.edu or phone 5-HELP (650-725-4357).
To Report a Residential Service Outage or to Request an Emergency Repair
Staff will be available to respond to trouble calls from Stanford West and the Welch Road apartments. To report a service outage please submit a HelpSU request at helpsu.stanford.edu or phone 5-HELP (650-725-4357).
