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Thu, 2007-11-08 19:25 — dpa2

ANGEL, ynot 24/7?

Just curious b/c I advise adult learners (and I suspect online learners around the world who take courses via the World Campus may have some of the same issues) who would prefer to access ANGEL at times when the little ones are asleep or otherwise pre-occupied...like 5am-7am, when ANGEL is down for "maintenance reasons."

Can't ANGEL be accessible 24/7? Does there REALLY need to be a maintenance period from 5am-7am ET each day? How about activating some mirror/back-up servers to grant access all day? C'mon, we are Penn State; we should be able to do this, right?

Thu, 2007-11-08 22:05 — Jeff Swain

It is something we continually look at

Hi Dana,

Making ANGEL available 24/7 is something we all want to do. But it's not as easy as it sounds. To make ANGEL work with multiple other platforms (such as ISIS) daily updates need to be done. Plus other systems that ANGEL "speaks with" go offline for maintenance during the hours of 5-7 making ANGEL unavailable. So right now we are tied into the 5-7 window. We are exploring ways to overcome this (including mirror servers) and we do recognize the needs and desires of all our students, no matter where they are located or their situation. I count myself in with the adult learner crowd having completed my bachelors and doctorate studies while working full-time for the most part so I feel the need. The truth is, the 5-7 maintenance window is the least obtrusive to the majority of our faculty and students given the present circumstances.

Jeff