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When the Lights Go Out
IT’s Responsibilities During a Campus Power Outage

On November 7, Paul Redfern, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, issued the following e-mail notification which began: “The Gettysburg College campus has lost power. The Colleges network will also be affected shortly, and email communications and web updates will become impossible.” The notification was in response to a power outage on campus caused by the Nor‘easter that hit the East Coast one week after Super Storm Sandy had ravaged much of the same area. Fortunately, Gettysburg College had avoided the major effects of both storms, but a power outage resulted from high winds in the area. The loss of power was a weather related emergency, so according to the College’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) the Department of Public Safety is the designated lead agency for directing on-campus operations. The actions to be taken were detailed in Redfern’s complete e-mail to the campus. The College’s network was on backup battery power and in the process of shutting down. A smooth shutdown required the response of the entire IT Division. In this article Rod Tosten, Vice President for IT, explains the role of the Division in protecting important College and personal data as well as providing a smooth restart to the network after power was restored to the campus. Full Story

The Universal Power Supply (UPS) located near the server room in West Building

Check List for Your On Campus Desktop Computer

During this season of checking lists (even twice) take a few minute to review our COMPUTER CHECKLIST prior to leaving campus for the holidays.

Before leaving your office:

1. Update your voice mail greeting to let people know you will be out of the office for an extended amount of time. Instructions are located: http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/it/io/telecommunications/voicemail_instructions.dot
2. Keep your password from expiring. If you will be away for more than a few weeks and think your network password may expire, change it prior to leaving campus (especially if you are travelling out of the Gettysburg area). The link to changing your password can be found here: http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/it/changing_passwords.dot
3. Turn on Automatic (Out of Office) replies in your email. In Outlook 2007 and 2010, use the Out of Office Assistant. In Office 2007 on the Tools tab, click Out of Office Assistant. In Outlook 2010 on the file tab, click the Info tab and select Automatic Replies. In Outlook 2011 on the “Tools” tab, click “Out of Office”.
4. Turn your computer off! This will save a great deal of energy and eliminate any issues that could develop in the case of a power outage.See Complete List

IT Wishes Everyone
A Very Happy Holiday Season

The Dining Room Fireplace in the Mansion of Kings Gap Environmental Education Center


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