Shutdown set to increase UB's email capacity
Central server to be split into two Mailhubs; impact of a crash would be cut in half

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

The university's email system will be shut down for several days next month in order to double the system's capacity in anticipation of increased use with Access99.

The shutdown, the dates of which had not been scheduled as the Reporter went to press, is not related to the failure of the university's central email server in February that crippled email service at UB for nearly two weeks, CIT officials stress.

Although users will not have access to email during the shutdown, Web service will be available, and the PPP service on dial up will be available so that users off campus can dial into the UB computer to access the Internet.

Richard Lesniak, director of academic services for Computing and Information Technology, said the email system is being taken down in order to increase the capacity of the system and "make sure we're prepared to handle the (email) load we have predicted, through June 2000."

In order to increase that capacity, CIT staff will be "twinning the Mailhub"- literally splitting the central email server, or "Mailhub" that handles email at UB, into two servers, Lesniak said.

However, the procedure "is not as simple as adding one machine," he said, pointing out that the disk system that the central server now uses will have to be reconfigured so that two servers can share the system.

During the shutdown, staff also will perform maintenance on the email file system "to improve performance," he said.

What you can do about email during the shutdown Although email service at UB will be shut down for several days next month, there are things university faculty, staff and students can do to alleviate any inconvenience the shutdown might cause: - If users have other, non-UB email accounts, they can forward mail from their UB accounts to those other accounts http://imap.buffalo.edu/imap/index.html. Users should click on "create a new filter," then scroll down to the "forward" option and enter the address of the account to which they would like to forward their UB mail. - Users who do not have another email account may obtain one of the numerous free email accounts available on the Web, and then forward their UB mail. These services include Hotmail http://www.hotmail.com, Juno http://www.juno.com and Rocketmail http://www.rocketmail.com. Even though email services will be shut down, users still will have access to the Internet and can use those email services, such as Hotmail and Rocketmail, that are Web-based. - Pick up the telephone and call those with whom you maintain email communication, or email them before the shutdown, to let them know that the UB system will be experiencing some down time. This is especially helpful for researchers who communicate with their granting agencies via email, notes Richard Lesniak, director of academic services for Computing and Information Technology. The "vacation rules" service that automatically sends a message back to the sender will not be working during the shutdown, Lesniak adds.

The shutdown is being scheduled so that it will occur during the system's lowest usage period, Lesniak said, although he acknowledged that UB has many "365-day-a-year users" who rely on the email system regardless of whether classes are in session.

"You never cannot impact people" with a shutdown of the system, he added.

Although the exact date for the shutdown has yet to be determined due to a delay in a shipment of hardware needed for the work, the job must be done before classes in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences begin in mid-August, he said.

The dates for the shutdown, when they become known, will be posted at http://wings.buffalo.edu/computing/alert.

With the university receiving new, incoming email at a rate of 160,000 to 180,000 pieces each weekday and 60,000 pieces daily on the weekends, "too many people are being served by a single Mailhub," Lesniak said.

Having two Mailhubs will allow CIT to "split the (email) load so we have twice the capacity."

Moreover, should one of the Mailhubs crash, only half of UB's email users would be affected, he said, which not only would cut the impact by 50 percent, but also shorten the time it would take to bring the server back online.

UB's email load has been increasing by 100 percent every 15-18 months, he said. This increased usage includes not only more email messages, but larger messages, he said, as many users email multimedia documents or hypertext documents.

While an additional Mailhub will give the system enough processing capability to "stay current for this year"- and handle the increased usage expected with Access99, in which all incoming freshmen will be required to have access to a computer and working knowledge in basic software packages, the Internet and email-it will not solve the "ultimate, long-term growth issues" of the system, Lesniak noted.

UB suffered a debilitating disruption of its email system in February, leaving the majority of the university's faculty, staff and students unable to send or receive email for days at a time. An estimated 15,000 pieces of mail were lost during the unexpected shutdown of the system.

CIT officials attributed the crash to an inability of the central email server to handle the volume, which exceeded 8.5 million files. The server was reconfigured into 12 smaller segments to better handle the load.

In the wake of the crash, a campuswide committee was formed to review the approach that was taken in the restoration of the university's central email service, examine the central email system and recommend changes, including longer-term changes, such as replacement of the system, if necessary.

The committee has been meeting regularly and should have final recommendations by next spring, said Brian Murphy, committee chair and director of health-professions information technology. Murphy noted that the committee posts the minutes of its meetings online at http:/wings.buffalo.edu/IT/UBEmail and invites input from members of the university community via a listserv available on the Web site.