NHU-PAC all set

November 29, 12:10 PM -- NHU-PAC is now up and running as usual.  If you have any problems please contact the help desk.  271-2141

Close but no cigar!

November 29, 11:55 AM.  Holdings maintenance is currently working, but there are still issues with the ILL module.  Five minutes remaining for our goal, but don't hold your breath.

NHU-PAC System update

November 29, 11:25 AM.  All "furniture" has been moved as planned.  We are still working on getting NHU-PAC up and running and our goal for noon is still within sights.  Watch the blog for further updates.

NHU-PAC offline Tuesday 11/29

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 9:35 a.m.: The NHU-PAC is now offline as outlined in Mary Russell's message posted last Wednesday. A message will be posted here when you can use the system again.

ILL issue resolved Mon. 11/28

Monday, Nov. 28, 3 p.m.: You should be able to use NHU-PAC's ILL program now. If you find otherwise, don't hesitate to call the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141.

And don't forget: the entire NHU-PAC will be offline for scheduled maintenance tomorrow starting at 9:30 a.m.

ILL issue Mon. 11/28

Monday, Nov. 28, 3:45 p.m.: The ILL server is (and has been) up and running but we're trying to track down a network issue which is preventing users from connecting to it. The New Hampshire Department of Information Technology says it's seeing a lot of problems related to Cyber Monday but promised to check further into the issue with this particular server as other parts of the NHU-PAC seem to be functioning normally.

ILL problem Monday 11/28

Monday, Nov. 28, 2:30 p.m.: Users are reporting a problem connecting to NHU-PAC's ILL server. We're looking into it.

Another System Outage on Tuesday

Once again we are going to need to take the NHU-PAC offline so that we can move equipment around in preparation for the new server. We got everything moved last week into what we thought would be a workable arrangement only to discover when the server came out of its boxes and racking began that the rails for the new server were too long for the rack we planned to put it in. (Yes, I now know to check this ahead of time. By the time this server install is done I will have learned a lot of stuff that can go wrong and needs to be checked on.)

The last Tuesday of the month is our regularly scheduled day to restart the servers so we will do the work Tuesday morning. It will be later than the usual restart, however as numerous people, including some in Utah, need to be involved.

The NHU-PAC will be shut down on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at around 9:30am and will be down for as long as it takes to get the various machines swapped out. I would expect an hour or two, but we won't know for sure until we get there.

Sorry for the inconvenience. As always, check this blog for updated info.

LYRASIS Classes at Member Prices for NHAIS Libraries

Through the NH State Library's LYRASIS membership, NHAIS libraries may attend classes offered by LYRASIS at member rates. In order to do this you must register for the course through NHAIS Services.

Here is the process that must be followed to get the lower (member) price:

1. Identify the LYRASIS course you want to take
2. Complete the NHAIS/LYRASIS Class Registration Form and return it to NHAIS Services at least 20 business days before the class date
3. Your NHAIS membership will be verified and the registration forwarded to LYRASIS for processing
4. When you are registered for the class you will hear directly from LYRASIS with info on connecting to online classes. Contact info for following up with LYRASIS if needed is on the NHAIS/LYRASIS Form.
5. The cost of the LYRASIS class will be billed to your library in the next quarterly NHAIS billing. Please note that credit card payments cannot be accepted for training through the NHAIS membership.

For future reference, this information, and the needed form are on the NHAIS Services Training Page.

Another Van Route Cancellation, 11/23/2011

The North Country Van Delivery route (aka Heather's route) is now being cancelled, due to the weather.

Diana

Van Route Cancellation, 11/23/2011

The Capital District (Jill) and Lakes Region (Jarod) Van Delivery routes have been cancelled for today, Wednesday, November 23, 2011, due to the weather.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. 

How to Create a Google Form

Collecting information from people is easier with an online survey. Here are the instructions to set up a Google Form. Let me know if you have questions or would like the Word document. -Bobbi

Creating a Google Form

Server Replacement Schedule

There is a new schedule for the installation of the new NHU-PAC server--this is the main server where all the NHU-PAC data resides--which will require the system to be shut down almost entirely for 3 days the week of December 12th.

Everything is in place, with the exception of some electrical work that is supposed to be finished by next week but which hasn't been confirmed. Once again, I would pencil the following into your calendars:

NHU-PAC, for all searching and cataloging, will be unavailable from 8am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 until AT LEAST the end of the day (4:30pm) on Thursday, December 15, 2011, and PROBABLY the end of the day on Friday, December 16, 2011.

You will not be able to start new interlibrary loan transactions during this period of time, because searching will be unavailable in the ILL system as well as the rest of the NHU-PAC. According to SirsiDynix (but untested until we actually disconnect the old server) you should be able to access your existing ILL transactions in the system to fill, or return, or set to not available requests that are begun before 8am on Wednesday 12/14/2011. As NHU-PAC will be down your usual path to the ILL system won't be available, but there is a direct link to the NHAIS ILL system on the NHAIS Services ILL Resources web page.

Updates on progress will be posted, as usual, on the NHAIS Notes Blog. If everything goes smoothly and we are able to bring the system back up sooner than expected, we will announce the revised plan on the blog and get things back online sooner. If you always access the blog from the 'system messages' link on NHU-PAC, take a moment to bookmark (or favorite, or whatever) the direct link to the NHAIS Notes Blog (http://nhais.blogspot.com/) as you won't have access to your usual path during the server switch.

Until we announce that everything is back DON'T go online and modify holdings or start ILL transactions. Once things are installed we will test them, and it is possible that you might see what looks like the NHU-PAC available for use but is actually a temporary test environment and any work you do there will be lost. We won't forget to let you know when everything is ready. Similarly, trying to get a bunch of stuff in right before 8am on the day we shut the server down may lead to lost work.

NHU-PAC restored

Friday, Nov. 18, 12:20 p.m.: NHU-PAC service, including Holdings Maintenance, has been restored. It appears that the pictures and reviews that should appear when viewing individual records are not displaying but otherwise things look normal. If you find otherwise, please let us know by calling the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141.

NHU-PAC partially restored

November 18, 11:45 AM. You can now search and ILL on the NHU-PAC. Holdings Maintenance, however, is still being worked on. Watch for further updates.


Michelle

Scheduled System Outage Starting Early

There has been a small change in schedule and we are going to need to bring the NHU-PAC down at 9:40 this morning, rather than 10am as indicated in yesterday's message. We will get everything back up and running as soon as possible and will post a message here when everything is set.

If you are working in NHU-PAC right now, please finish up and log out in the next 10 minutes.

Short system outage starts 10 a.m Friday 11/18

We'll be taking the NHU-PAC offline starting around 10 a.m. on Friday, November 18. The system should be back online by noon--watch for updates on the NHAIS Notes blog. This outage is necessary to prepare for the server swap now planned for the week of December 12.

Short system outage this Friday

This Friday, November 18, 2011 the NHU-PAC will be unavailable for a few hours (at most) so we can do some preliminary work to get things in place for our often-rescheduled new NHAIS server install. The exact time of the outage is still up in the air (we are coordinating schedules with various people to make it as short a time as possible), but will be announced here tomorrow.

The switch over to the new server is now expected to happen the week of December 12, 2011. The exact days when everything will be taken down and brought back up should be nailed down by the end of this week and an announcement will be made, probably on Monday.

Pictures, reviews restored

Monday, Nov. 14: Enhanced content (cover images, reviews, first-chapter excerpts, tables of contents, etc.) now displays correctly when viewing individual records in the NHU-PAC.

Pictures, reviews missing again

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 1:45 p.m.: Enhanced content (cover images, reviews, first-chapter excerpts, tables of contents, etc.) which should display when viewing an individual record in the NHU-PAC is temporarily unavailable. This marks the 4th time in the past month that this has happened--let's see how quickly we can get it back this time.

ILL status timeouts

With NHU-PAC's ILL program up and running for its first full day of service since the weekend, you may find that some requests which were Pending when you last were able to check on them have now moved to another library in the lender string or gone Unfilled.

Borrowers should check for Unfilled requests in Request Inquiry. If the request went Unfilled after last Friday (Nov. 4), it might be worthwhile to create a new request for the same item. If you don't know how to use Request Inquiry, check this FAQ.

Also note that some lenders may have sent materials without being able to change the status to Shipped in the ILL program. This may lead to the borrower receiving more than one copy of the requested item, a circumstance covered in this FAQ.

ILL is back again!

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7:45 a.m.: NHU-PAC's ILL program is back in business. The data and duties of one disk were successfully moved to another disk around 5 o'clock last night.

ILL System Update

I just spoke to the person at SirsiDynix who is working on the problem with our ILL. They are in the process of moving our data from a bad disc in the ILL server to a good one. This will take most of overnight to finish and some further action may be needed in the morning as well. There is reason to be hopeful that ILL will be back up and running by lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday).


The question has come up of whether the ILL transactions that were in the system on Friday will still be there when things come back or if they will have timed out since it has been 3 days. We will check on this and let you know for certain when things are back in business. However, because the system was up and running last night I expect that any transaction that was 3 days old as of Monday expired this morning.

ILL problems Tuesday

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m.: The ILL server remains offline while work continues to restore service. The problem is now being blamed on a failing disk drive and SirsiDynix technicians are trying to get another disk to do the job.

ILL problems Tuesday

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 11:35 a.m.: NHU-PAC's ILL server is offline now. It's being worked on. For those who weren't around yesterday, this outage is unrelated to the previously announced replacement of NHU-PAC's main server. That work, originally scheduled to start yesterday, has been postponed and will probably take place next month.

ILL problems Tuesday

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 10:20 a.m.: NHU-PAC's ILL server is up and running (unlike at this time yesterday) but the ILL program isn't responding as it should. SirsiDynix technicians are looking at the problem right now.

ILL problems Tuesday

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 10:05 a.m.: NHU-PAC's ILL program is acting up again. We're looking into it.

ILL restored!

Monday, Nov. 7, 3:05 p.m.: NHU-PAC ILL service has been restored. We'll be keeping an extra watch on the server's behavior in the days to come but if you find something not working as it should please call the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141.

ILL login error

Monday, Nov. 7, 1:30 p.m.: NHU-PAC ILL remains out of service. There's no progress to report at this hour but I can clarify that the problem involves only the ILL server and doesn't affect other parts of the NHU-PAC. This outage is not connected to plans to replace the main NHU-PAC server (work originally scheduled to start this afternoon but now postponed, probably to early December--the new date will be posted here once everything's in place).

ILL login error

Monday, Nov. 7, 10:25 a.m.: NHU-PAC ILL remains out of service. We've found that the server which hosts the ILL program is functioning but certain key components aren't. We continue to work on resolving this problem.

ILL login error

Monday, Nov. 7, 8:05 a.m.: On further diagnosis, you may not be able to get to NHU-PAC's ILL login page at all. All other NHU-PAC functions appear to be working normally.

ILL login error

Monday, Nov. 7, 7:55 a.m.: The ILL program is not allowing logins this morning. You'll see an "Internal Server Error" message after submitting your username and password. This problem has been reported to SirsiDynix.

Pictures, reviews restored

Wednesday, November 2, 7:50 a.m.: Enhanced content (cover images, reviews, first-chapter excerpts, tables of contents, etc.) now displays correctly when viewing individual records in the NHU-PAC. We went without the enhanced content 3 times during October. Two of those times were because of firewalls and IP address changes but this last time can be blamed on the snowstorm. Syndetic Solutions, a Bowker division which provides the content, says "Late last evening we were able to restore power to our operations and all of our systems are back online. There may be some intermittent outages over the next few days while we repair storm damage but we expect our services to remain largely available."

Server replacement schedule delayed

The upgrading of our NHU-PAC server that I announced last week has been delayed.

I don't have new dates yet--a conference call this Thursday may provide them--but it won't happen next week. As soon as a new schedule is confirmed I will let everyone know what to expect. My best guess at this point is early December, but don't quote me.