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  3. News 2022

Headlines - July 1, 2022

 


Data Services  is Making
a BIG Move By Fall 2022
 
 Normally, a big move means packing up all your belongings, hire big moving trucks, and seek plenty of hands to help carry all the boxes. In this case, the move may be big, but it is purely digital. No moving trucks needed.

In this case, the move has to do with data. By early Fall, we will start the process of moving all our services and data to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This means by the time we finish this move, all our servers located in the data center will be shut down and all applications and data will be housed at AWS.

There are numerous advantages to this move, including:
  1. Server and network issues almost completely disappear. We no longer have to have physical servers, and no longer need to drive to the data center to solve some hardware issues.
  2. The ability to deploy updates will become more automatic and happen more often.
  3. Performance improvements. Repeat, performance improvements.
  4. Scaling. Have a huge registration coming up? We can quickly provide more power to your system to handle that increased demand.
  5. The ability to house data regionally if needed. This means our international customers may have the option to host their system much closer to their country (aka performance improvement statement again). And the ability to service Canadian customers finally becomes a reality.
  6. System backups, and if needed, recovery, occur much faster.
There are even more advantages that we see moving forward with the use of AWS to host all of Xenegrade's applications. Our longer term hope is that we will also gain some cost advantages as well. With what seems as never ending rise in expenses, there are options available to us that may help reduce future cost increases.

We will have more detail in August as we get closer to making the first customer moves. Meanwhile, thank you for your support during this time of transition.
 


Release 2 Phase Out
Undergoes Revisions
But Still On Target
 
 With the move to AWS, we are delaying any of the July and August customer transitions to Release 3 until September. This allows us the time to prepare a proper transition process to AWS. More details will be available in August on this process.

But that's not all. There are also some major performance improvements on the way. Three areas, in particular, are being modified to dramatically improve performance. Some of the modifications for these three areas will also benefit other areas, so even though we are targeting these three areas now, that drive for performance improvement is never over.
  1. Client Profile
  2. Course Sections
  3. Client Assignment
Even with this 1-2 month transition postponement, the move to AWS allows us to make the process easier and remain on target with a December/January wrap-up of Release 3 transitions.

Read the details about the Phase Out process...
 


Don't Forget Your Custom URL Secure Certificate Renewals.
 
 If you have a custom URL associated with your WebReg module, you have a secure web certificate unique to your URL. It is imperative that you monitor the expiration date for that certificate to prevent it from expiring without a renewal.

Since those secure certificates are not owned by Xenegrade, we don't have the ability to renew those. Way too often, a last minute rush to renew the certificate takes place after it has expired, and clients cannot make purchases on the WebReg module.

Give yourself plenty of time ahead of the expiration date. Try to renew 1-2 weeks before the expiration, and be sure to send us the updated certificate details to install on the system.

With a little advanced planning, we can prevent that expiration date from becoming an issue and keep your registrations coming in smoothly.
 


Did You Know That Some Services Are Not Covered Under Standard Support
 
 Standard technical support covers many things, but there are two areas that are not covered: ODBC query development and debugging user-built InSight reports. We try to provide some guidance in these two areas, but the ability to provide support for these two areas would require additional support coverage.

What are your options? For both ODBC and InSight user-built reports, there are two options:

The first option is to purchase a block of hours for use by our staff to use as needed when support is requested. The second option is to purchase support for a specific report or project. In both these cases, the support may be with someone other than those you often communicate within the ticket support system. As needed, the program engineers step in and assist with these kinds of support as they are often above and beyond the normal support requirements.

And if needed, this same process could be used to have Xenegrade build custom reports for you. 
 


Independence Day Holiday
Office Schedule 
 
 Xenegrade will be closed on Monday, July 4, 2022, so that staff can observe the Independence Day holiday with their families. The office will reopen on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

As usual, if there is an emergency where accessing XenDirect is unavailable, submit a support ticket via the support center using the predefined emergency process.
         
All of us at Xenegrade cherish the freedoms we have in America. May you and your families remain safe this holiday weekend.


 


HELPFUL REMINDERS
 
  • News Email List: Join those who want to receive a notice whenever we post a news article. Be the first to know! From within XenDirect, you can opt-in to the news email list. Go to the window where you log out and look for the User Profile link (Release 2) or My Profile link (Release 3). Use this link to manage your profile options. Once you opt-in, you are on the news email list until you decide to opt-out.
  • Status Website: If you have not seen or subscribed to the Service Status website , it is more important than ever to consider doing so. This website displays up-to-date server issues or scheduled maintenance that affect user access to XenDirect modules. One of the key features of the status site is your ability to subscribe to the automated email list. Every time an update is made to the status site, all subscribers will receive an automated email related to the status update.
  • Application Updates: Don't forget to check the     Updates section of the Support Center. Whenever updates are made to any of the XenDirect services, a post describing the change, addition, or fix is made. Release 3 deploys updates about every two weeks. Other services are about once per month or as needed.
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  1. Rick Stern

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