Category: Support Information
SimpleHelp – now available off-campus without VPN
The SimpleHelp remote assistance service no longer requires a VPN connection for off-campus clients. Clients should now access the service using this URL: http://ist-simplehelp.bu.edu/
IT Help Center staff members that have been given access to administer client machines remotely using this service will now need to use the technician URL: https://ist-simplehelp.bu.edu/technician/
Further information about SimpleHelp is available here: http://www.bu.edu/tech/desktop/support/software/simplehelp/
P1 Hotline – important support information
The P1 Hotline is used by IS&T staff to report major incidents. This hotline will be forwarded to the Service Desk during our normal operating schedule. We have instructed IS&T staff to state, “This is a P1 – please let me speak to a CSS.” If you receive one of these calls, immediately notify a CSS and transfer the call to them.
Remember: We need client information!
This is a reminder to all Service Desk students that when creating a ticket, you MUST get the contact information for a client that we can follow up with. Do NOT use mailing lists or service accounts (such as buworks@bu.edu) as the client name, as we must be able to follow up with an individual.
Sometimes a person might call in to report an issue that impacts a department. In those situations, we still need the information of the person on the phone, and as much detail as possible about the issue. In the case of a student employee calling on behalf of a department, try to get the information of a staff member in the department that we can follow up with. This will help us shorten the response time for tickets.
Blackboard / BUworks issue with IE9 and Firefox 4
Clients may experience incompatibility issues if they use Blackboard or BUworks with IE9 or Firefox 4. We are recommending that clients use Firefox 3 until SAP or Blackboard can address the incompatibility issues.
Important: we have created a new tag in One Help called “IE9/FF4” that you should use to tag all tickets about this issue. We are sending a broadcast message to all faculty and staff today. The text of that message is below.
New EFS landing page for BU Google Apps clients
Starting Tuesday, March 29th, at 6:30 a.m., clients who have BU Google Apps accounts will be provided with a new landing page in front of the existing EFS application. The landing page will facilitate forwarding both acs.bu.edu and bu.edu mail to BU Google Apps with one click, so clients won't need to type out login@gmail.bu.edu. They can also choose to forward both ACS and bu.edu mail to another service provider via the same page. Using either of these quick options will result in all new mail being forwarded, without retaining a local copy of new mail on ACS.
Clients who have an existing ACS account will also see an advanced option they can use to access advanced ACS forwarding settings, e.g. forwarding to more than one address, retaining a local copy, etc. The advanced button essentially just takes them into the existing EFS application.
Revision – School of Theology support
This article is a revision on the previous one sent two days ago. Currently, the School of Theology has limited local support and as a result, Desktop Services has been providing backup. Until further notice, please assign all STH tickets-- 7 days a week, not just on Wednesdays-- to Desktop Services. We will coordinate with STH local support to respond to clients.
Friday 3/25 6pm-7pm – maintenance affecting BUworks Blackboard training
Tonight, Friday 3/25, from 6pm-7pm, systems used within Blackboard 8 for BUworks training will be undergoing maintenance. While it's unlikely that anyone will be participating in training at this time, please be aware of this time frame if clients contact us about it. This maintenance only affects those using Blackboard for BUworks training.
Wednesdays: School of Theology Desktop Support
We wanted to remind everyone that on Wednesdays School of Theology is supported by Desktop Services. Only on Wednesdays, if you receive any calls from a School of Theology staff or faculty member in regards to their departmental machines, please create a ticket and assign to Desktop Services. All other days, please create a ticket and send an external e-mail to sthhelp@bu.edu.
This article is a revision on the previous one sent two days ago. Currently, the School of Theology has limited local support and as a result, Desktop Services has been providing backup. Until further notice, please assign all STH tickets-- 7 days a week, not just on Wednesdays-- to Desktop Services. We will coordinate with STH local support to respond to clients.
Change Management access to Service-Now
If anyone requests access to Service-Now for the purpose of Change Management, please assign the ticket to a CSS for tracking purposed and send the request as an external e-mail to: changemanager@bu.edu, marking it as Pending 3rd Party.
Support for tickets about External Activity Reports
If we receive any tickets about Office of the Provost External Activity Reports, please assign the ticket to a CSS for tracking purposes and send the ticket as an external e-mail to Jeff Albro [jalbro@bu.edu].
Instructions that are provided to participants are available here: http://www.bu.edu/provost/ao/fas/forms-library/ear/