Webmail problems frustrate IU

Ariel users who are experiencing difficulty logging in to their Webmail will have to wait until Friday to access their account.\nThe problem can be attributed to a hardware failure on IMAP4, the mail store for Ariel, said Rick Jackson, manager of messaging for University Information Technology Services.\n"Multiple things broke all at the same time," Jackson said. "It was a catastrophic failure for all Ariel users. It was a combination of things that pushed Ariel over the edge."\nJackson said people don't normally notice when UITS has internal failures, but in this case, multiple drives failed, resulting in the overall failure of the Ariel Webmail system, which is part of the Shakespeare system.\n"Usually we can put in another drive so we can rebuild the system," he said. "Generally it happens and nobody knows except for us, but the problem was too large this time."\nJackson said a hardware vendor came into UITS within four hours of the problem and replaced all of the pieces that could be fixed. However, because of the nature of the problem, Jackson said UITS decided to move on to plan B.\n"We are letting the hardware try to rebuild the data and we are also doing a contingency plan in case that doesn't work. We built another server and are restoring data on that server for backup takes," Jackson said. "Hopefully, nothing will be deleted from mailboxes, but we just don't know. It's too early to tell."\nJackson said the restoration process has been going on since 9 p.m. Tuesday and as of Wednesday at 3 p.m., the process was only 25 percent complete. However, he said UITS employees will work around-the-clock to make it so students can start sending and receiving e-mail before Friday on a temporary basis. This system will not contain any previously stored data, Jackson said.\n"After what we've seen over the last few hours, it doesn't look like it will be fully back until Friday," he said. "There's a lot of variables that we just can't control."\nSenior Jon Harari checks his IU e-mail account every two to four hours, and on Wednesday, after clicking away at his mouse, he was surprised to find the hourglass icon on his computer still running after nearly 10 minutes.\n"My Webmail just wasn't working," Harari said. "I thought I entered the wrong password or typed my login incorrectly, but it just wouldn't load."\nIn between class, Harari also tried to access his e-mail from both the Kelley School of Business and Ballantine Hall -- but the system repeatedly told him his login was incorrect.\n"It was frustrating," he said. "I am so dependent on my e-mail, and no matter what I did, I couldn't access it."\nSophomore Erica Beaty, operator at the IU Call Center, said more than 500 students have called with questions and concerns about their Webmail outage between the hours of 4:30 and 10 p.m. Tuesday alone.\n"We have told them what we know -- that the system is down and we don't know when it will be back up," she said.\nThroughout the day Tuesday, UITS constantly updated its Web site with information pertaining to the delays. Rather than UITS listing the problem, the latest update, at 8:48 p.m., Tuesday said "Users are experiencing difficulties accessing their e-mail on IMAP4 (Ariel) ... Administrators estimate service will be restored Wednesday, Oct. 13."\nHowever, many students who attempted to login into their Webmail experienced the same error messages Wednesday morning.\nFreshman Jon Gallagher missed an appointment with his English professor because he couldn't access his Webmail to confirm the meeting time or place.\n"I was really upset because I needed to be there," Gallagher said. \nGallagher, like Harari, also tried to access his Webmail from different locations on-campus, but was unsuccessful.\n"It's just been a really long two days," Gallagher said.\nMary Gray, assistant professor of communication and culture said online resources such as Webmail have become incorporated technologies into our daily life.\n"When these resources aren't there, it becomes disruptive," Gray said. "E-mail is so much a part of most people's day-to-day practices."\nGray said the Webmail outage is especially troublesome to students this week because of midterms.\n"Students may not be able to access what could be important information from professors ... and that can be really stressful," she said. "Our University relies on the system so much. But some are reluctant to rely on it for these kinds of reasons."\nJackson said UITS received funding toward the end of the summer to replace the five-year-old hardware systems. The new system, he said, is designed specifically to deal with disasters like this.\n"The (new) hardware has been ordered and should start getting delivered in the next 30 to 60 days," Jackson said. "Then we will build it. We are optimistic that we can have it in place and ready to go early in the spring semester."\nJackson said the Ariel Webmail crash also affected students on other IU campuses including IU-East, IU-Northwest and IU-South Bend.\n-- Contact campus editor Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.