Service Status

The POWER9 nodes on BlueBEAR are currently unavailable due to a kernel bug causing nodes to hang. We are awaiting a software update to fix this issue.

The bug fix is currently targeted for Redhat Enterprise Linux 8.4, which is due to be released in the next few weeks, but will not have support for our filesystem (Spectrum Scale) initially.

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We are currently aware of some degradation in performance with the Remote Desktop service (accessed through remote.bham.ac.uk).

Some users are unable to access the service at all, seeing either a black screen when logging in or an error message which causes the service to quit.

We are working to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

As a reminder, on a University-issued machine, you do not need to connect to the Remote Desktop to access your files and other services from off campus and can instead use the University’s VPN.

More information about the University VPN can be found here:

https://kb.bham.ac.uk/KB13508

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We are currently aware of an issue whereby a version of Panopto on some Lecture Room machines is not saving recordings, as expected. We have identified the cause and are working on a fix.

If you encounter any issues with Panopto in a Lecture Room, please contact the TAMU team, by phone on 0121 4143322 or by  email at tamu@contacts.bham.ac.uk, who will be able to assist you with alternative ways of recording in Panopto.

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Update 19/04/21 12:07

We now have a workaround to the ABAQUS issue (described below), if you are affected by the ABAQUS problem we can provide details and support if you log a ticket here: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/bear/sd/help-with-bear-compute

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Since the BEAR systems work last week, we have experienced some licence issues and these have now been fixed.

We are now aware of an issue with using ABAQUS on BlueBEAR. This is currently being investigated and further updates will be provided in due course.

There have been some changes to applications available on BlueBEAR – please see https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/bear/2020-os-upgrade for more details about these.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

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Student administration services should be available again after a system upgrade overnight 6-7 May.

The following services should be available normally:

• Online registration
• Student Gateway – student access to Exam Marks, My Provisional Marks, My Registered Modules, GRS2 for PGRs, Absence Recording.
• Staff Gateway – staff access to BIRMS, GRS2 for supervisors
• Right To Study – for staff administrators
• Banner admin/BIRMS – for staff administrators

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Some student administration web apps will be unavailable on Wednesday 12 May between 4-6pm (UK time) to allow for essential system maintenance.

The unavailable services during this period will include:

• Student Gateway – affecting student access to Exam Marks, My Provisional Marks, My Registered Modules, GRS2 for PGRs, Absence Recording.
• Staff Gateway – affecting staff access to BIRMS*, GRS2 for supervisors
• Right To Study – for staff administrations only. International students will be able to submit documents via the forms.

*Note for staff users of BIRMS – BIRMS itself will be still be available, but new logins via the Staff Gateway will be unavailable 4-6pm. If you are logged into BIRMS before 4pm, you should be able to continue working. If you need to start a fresh session between 4-6pm, you will need to login to BIRMS via my.bham.

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We have recently updated the certificate used for our WiFi networks on campus. The certificate authenticates the connection between your device and the WiFi and encrypts it.

This may mean that if you haven’t been on campus for a while that the first time you try to connect your device to the eduroam WiFi you may be asked to verify the certificate to connect again. If you do see this message then it is safe to verify the certificate.

You can also download and use the setup tool at cat.eduroam.org if you need help configuring your device. Just click on download the eduroam installer, select University of Birmingham from the list and choose the device type you wish to install it on.

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