| Publication Date: May 28, 2008 Author: William Leith, Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid Summary: Data Center Relocation Update #7 – Final Implementation Changed to June 20 – 23, 2008 Posted on 05-28-2008 As we initially informed you in a March 28, 2008 Electronic Announcement posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we will soon implement the Federal Student Aid data center relocation of the Central Processing System (CPS), the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG), and several Web sites. To date, we have communicated July 2008 as our target for this final implementation. The purpose of this communication is to inform you of a change in schedule for the final data center relocation implementation. Our test cycles have been very successful, and we will be ready to complete the final implementation during the period June 20 – 23, 2008—two weeks earlier than originally planned. We appreciate your understanding of this schedule change. Please review the updated information below and evaluate impact to your school or organization during the final implementation period. June 20 – 23, 2008 Final Implementation Outage Period The CPS, the NSLDS, the SAIG, and the Web sites listed below will be unavailable to users from 5:00 P.M. (ET) Friday, June 20, 2008 until 8:00 A.M. (ET) Monday, June 23, 2008. Impact on Web Sites During the June 20 – 23, 2008 outage period, the following Web sites will be unavailable to users:
Due to the unavailability of the Federal Student Aid PIN Web site during the June 20 – 23, 2008 outage period, users will be unable to complete functions that require PIN use on the following Web sites:
Impact on CPS Compute Processing In conjunction with the June 20 – 23, 2008 outage period, we will need to suspend the CPS compute process for a short period of time. We will not process application or correction data on Friday, June 20, 2008 and Monday, June 23, 2008. As a result, application and correction data sent to the CPS during the period June 19 – 23, 2008 will not be processed until June 24, 2008. There are no known state deadlines that will be affected by the suspended compute dates. Note: Per our normal processing schedule, application data received by 12:59 A.M. (ET) on June 19, 2008 will have an Application Receipt Date, a Transaction Receipt Date, and a Processed Date of June 19, 2008. Correction data received by 12:59 A.M. (ET) on June 19, 2008 will have a Transaction Receipt Date and a Processed Date of June 19, 2008. In some cases, matches with external agencies may take longer and result in the Processed Date being a few days later than the Application Receipt Date and the Transaction Receipt Date. Impact on NSLDS Processing In conjunction with the June 20 – 23, 2008 outage period, we will need to suspend NSLDS processing for a short period of time. We will not process NSLDS data submittals from Friday, June 20, 2008 through Monday, June 23, 2008. As a result, all data sent to the NSLDS during the period June 19 – 23, 2008 will not be processed until June 24, 2008. Impact on SAIG File Submission During the June 20 – 23, 2008 outage period, file transmission via the SAIG will be interrupted. Users attempting to transmit files via the SAIG during the outage period will receive an error message informing them that the SAIG is unavailable and that data must be transmitted at a later time. Required EDconnect Upgrade and TDClient Initialization File Replacement In an April 23, 2008 Electronic Announcement posted on the IFAP Web site, we reminded the community about upgrading to EDconnect v7.2 and replacing the initialization file (tdclient.ini) to be used with all versions of the Transaction Delivery (TD) Client and Easy Access (EA) Client mainframe and midrange transmission software. These upgrades are associated with the data center relocation. We urge all EDconnect and TDClient users who have not already completed the applicable upgrade (or upgrades) to do so immediately. Failure to upgrade by the time we begin the transition to the new data center—5:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, June 20, 2008—will result in the inability to send and receive files. For additional information about these upgrades, refer to the April 23 rd Electronic Announcement. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete the required activities during the upcoming June 20 – 23, 2008 period. In addition, we appreciate the cooperation of EDconnect and TDClient users who must still upgrade in doing so immediately. |