Unforeseen technical difficulties forced Information Technology Services to delay an upgrade to its cybersecurity systems originally planned for Sunday, October 1.

The installation of new firewalls, which prevent unauthorized access to computer networks, will disrupt campus systems the morning of Friday, October 6.

Kevin Macnaughton of IT Services says the upgrade will mean a smoother, quicker Internet experience for users. The current firewalls struggle to meet demand when networks are busy, he says.

The new hardware will provide higher speed connections of up to 40 Gbps, as well as capacity for such innovations as cloud-sourced security checks.

IT Services will migrate network and Internet connections to the new firewalls starting at 4:30 a.m. Friday, interrupting services for up to 3.5 hours while wires are moved and servers and applications are restarted.

All network systems may be affected, says Macnaughton. Blackboard, myUWindsor, and the UWindsor website will be unavailable at some points during the process, which will wrap up by 8 a.m.

“We have done our best to schedule the service outage so it minimizes impact to campus,” he says, inviting those with questions or concerns to contact the IT Service Desk at 519-253-3000, ext. 4440.