Information Technology Services Blog

On Saturday March 21st the College’s internet connection will be unavailable from 6 am – 6:30 am. Faculty and staff email will be intermittently unavailable from 6 am – 10 am.

Dear Holy Cross Faculty, Staff, and Students,

Some of you have noticed that the speed of our internet connection seems faster than before.  This is because Information Technology Services upgraded our internet connection over the Spring break.  ITS has historically increased the size of our internet “pipe” by some amount each year.  This year we negotiated a contract with a new service provider, Cogent Communications, to increase the size of pipe 17 times (going from 60Mb to 1,000Mb) for a small increase in cost.  Before this upgrade, between 9:00AM to 2:00AM our internet connection was at peak capacity – like a highway jammed with cars.  Now, that traffic is moving along smoothly.  We hope you’ve noticed a difference.

Certainly, this isn’t the last time we will need to make such an adjustment.  Files and media streams used by people both here and elsewhere are steadily expanding in size and scope.  ITS will continue to study our internet connection usage to ensure that we address the ever-growing needs of the Holy Cross community.

On Saturday, March 7th, Information Technology Services staff will be performing required system updates. From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. the following systems will be intermittently unavailable: Advance, Brio, Blackboard, Ecards, Graphic Arts ordering system, Help Desk ticketing system, Media Surface websites, Master Calendar, STAR, and Online Giving.