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Update: UCLink conversion postponed for a week; do-it-yourself migration added 1.8.2004

UCLink accounts being moved to CalMail system this weekend

– UCLink users will wake up next week to find themselves in CalMail land, following the planned weekend migration of UCLink e-mail accounts to the new CalMail system.

Officials at Information Systems & Technology, which is managing the Sunday cutover for UCLink's 40,000 accounts, expect the transition to be nearly transparent for most users. UCLink users, who have been kept apprised of the ongoing CalMail project, are being told this week that their e-mail accounts will be unavailable on Sunday, Jan. 11, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the switch is being made.

Intensive beta testing by IS&T during December uncovered a couple of potential problems for certain UCLink users, and the notification e-mail has instructions on dealing with those issues, which include invalid passwords and incompatible e-mail client software.

UCLink users whose current passwords contain spaces will need to change them, as CalMail does not accept spaces in passwords. However, these users will still be able to access their e-mail in the interim, and will be directed to the Berkeley Internet Link to make the required change.

A potentially more serious problem confronts Windows-based users of older versions of the Eudora e-mail client (Mac users should not be affected). Users of Eudora 5.1 or 5.2 for Windows will be unable to access their e-mail, and will receive a warning message that "SSL negotiation failed." These users will need to install an upgraded version of Eudora (version 5.2.1 or newer, available from software.berkeley.edu) in order to reach their CalMail inbox. Alternatively, users can make temporary configuration changes to their encryption settings to gain access to their e-mail; instructions for doing so are on the CalMail FAQ page.

Two other less intrusive issues dealing with e-mail settings that users should check also are addressed in the notice going out to UCLink users.

Ann Dobson, team lead for the e-mail replacement project, said the CalMail crew was "on an extremely fast track to implement this," with the new e-mail system selected in October, installed in November, tested in December and campuswide migration from the ailing UCLink platform beginning in January.

"Groups on campus told us that they didn't want us to be making major changes after classes had started," Dobson said in explaining the narrow window of notification and migration. "Testing continued through winter break, and some of these problems didn't surface until break had begun."

Dobson said most users should be able to continue reading e-mail just as they always have, using their same e-mail address and software.

Web access to e-mail via BearMail also will remain intact for the time being, and offers an interim alternative for customers who encounter problems using their local e-mail clients to reach CalMail. However, BearMail will be replaced for UCLink users in early March by the new CalMail web client. (Socrates e-mail users will continue to use BearMail past the March CalMail cutoff.)

UCLink/CalMail users can get a head start with the new web e-mail interface starting Monday morning at CalMail.berkeley.edu.

UCLink e-mail users who encounter problems they can't solve following the Sunday switchover to CalMail should call the CalMail support desk at 642-7776. This desk will be staffed by CalMail student consultants for two months from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; outside those hours, CalMail support calls will be fielded by IS&T's 24-hour Trouble Desk at 642-4920.

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