Please note the Encompass Maintenance window for the US environments are scheduled as follows:
U.S. = Friday, February 11 at 10 p.m. ET through Sunday, February 13 at 12 noon ET.
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Product Maintenance
Anthology Encompass will be migrated from a data center to the cloud as part of important maintenance of the platform. Encompass sites will not be available during this scheduled maintenance window, Encompass will be inaccessible to admins and end-users, and email delivery will be paused. All sites will be restored, and all Encompass operations, including email delivery, will resume immediately after the maintenance window.
FAQs
Why is this system migration necessary?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
Anthology was informed by our third-party provider in mid-December that the data center we are currently using for Anthology Encompass is closing in May. Rather than moving to another data center (which would also require downtime), we will move to the cloud-based Microsoft Azure platform providing additional benefits and decreasing complexities.
How has Anthology prepared for this migration?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
Our teams have put together a detailed migration plan based on a similar migration that we completed for servers based in Canada. We will use that information and experience to ensure we complete the migration of our US servers as quickly as possible.
What are the benefits of migrating to Microsoft Azure?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
- Simplified Data Privacy and Compliance: All backup data and disaster recovery environments will be hosted in Azure, making it easier for Anthology to maintain these functions. This will reduce the documentation that may be needed for institutional compliance processes.
- Increased Availability: New levels of redundant infrastructure will increase system availability and reduce recovery time in the unlikely event of a disaster. Additionally, new cloud services will reduce system downtime during regular maintenance activities.
- Increased Scalability: Cloud infrastructure will allow us to respond faster, allocating additional resources if there are changes in load on sites.
Why was the date of February 11 selected?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
In selecting the migration date, we focused on identifying the least potential impact on our clients. Due to the closing of the current data center in May, there were limited options available given a large number of days of giving and events between March and May. We selected the weekend of February 11 in looking at the past annual activity of all institutions. We recognize there is no perfect time to undertake such a migration and understand that some of you may be impacted to a greater extent given events or activities already being planned. We are aware of the impact that any downtime for Encompass has on the work you do each and every day and we make every effort to minimize downtime for maintenance. We communicated the date as quickly as possible to ensure you have an opportunity to plan or adjust your engagement and solicitation strategies accordingly.
Will my site be down for a full two days?
(Last updated on: 21th Jan 2022)
The time frame we have provided is our maximum anticipated maintenance window. We wanted to ensure that you had the opportunity to plan for the outage in advance, without the need to communicate an extension, if needed. As soon as the data migration is complete, sites will be available while our teams complete testing. Once the testing is complete, we will communicate that the maintenance period is complete via status. To receive updates during the migration, please visit https://status.imodules.com and subscribe to alerts. You will receive notifications of key progress points during the migration, as well as a notification of completion of maintenance.
What are the steps being taken during the maintenance window?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
Anthology will be migrating all database servers to the cloud. We are performing incremental transfers/copies of the databases but still have the "final" cutover that will be needed to "catch up" all "transactions". This cutover is the reason for the scheduled outage. We are following a similar migration plan as was used with the successful migration of our servers in Canada and have determined the maximum outage time based on the amount of data and the number of servers that are being migrated. The team will do everything possible to minimize the scheduled outage time. We will communicate through the status page as soon as the migration is complete and Encompass has been tested by our QA teams. During the testing period, sites may be available, but please wait for our communication that maintenance is complete before testing your site.
Is Anthology testing Encompass?
(Last updated on: 21th Jan 2022)
The Anthology team has planned for this migration across multiple teams, also taking into account the information gained from the migration of our Canadian servers to the Azure environment. We successfully completed the migration of our staging environments the weekend of January 14th and have made minor adjustments to the migration plan.
What are clients expected to do for this migration?
(Last updated on: 21th Jan 2022)
There are several things that you can do to help ensure limited impact following the migration.
Prior to the migration, please confirm that the new IP addresses have been added to the allowed list, if applicable (see below).
Following the migration, our team will be testing each payment gateway on our testing sites; however, we also ask you to test live payment gateways to verify that you are able to complete a transaction.
Our team will be testing sites as part of the maintenance window; however, every site is slightly different, given additional non-standard Encompass elements that may have been added by your institution or at your request. Therefore, we encourage you to briefly test key areas of your site following the successful migration. We will be providing a short testing checklist with more details to spot-check your site and ensure that your instance of Encompass is working as expected.
Note that any emails scheduled during the maintenance window will not send, and we encourage you to adjust those communications.
How can I stay notified of the progress of the migration while my site is down?
(Last updated on: 21th Jan 2022)
Please visit https://status.imodules.com and subscribe to alerts. You will receive updates of key progress during the maintenance period reflecting the status of progress, as well as notification of completion of the migration and postmortem notes providing additional details.
What are the IPs that clients should be adding to their allowed list (whitelist)?
(Last updated on: 2nd Feb 2022)
This should be completed prior to the weekend of February 11. If you are not currently whitelisting our existing system IPs this step is not needed and requires no action. If needed, this is an important action item that you as a client can complete now if your institution is currently including Encompass IP addresses as part of an allowed list of IP addresses. Note that these IPs may connect to client payment gateways. (These IPs are NOT used for email marketing.) Please maintain existing IP’s until after the conclusion of the migration. If you are unsure about whether you are currently using an allowed list of IP addresses, please forward this to your IT team for review.
- 20.65.14.24
- 20.65.14.25
- 20.65.14.26
- 20.65.14.27
- 20.65.14.28
- 20.65.14.29
- 20.65.14.30
- 20.65.14.31
- (or cidr notation 20.65.14.24/29)
- *20.122.181.2 (*only needs to be included if you utilize web services)
Legacy system IPs can be removed after the migration is complete and can be found in the Migration checklist.
Will the Migration have an impact on web services (Encompass API)?
(Last updated on: 12th Jan 2022)
Yes. The current IP for web services (the Encompass API) will be changing. The API will be down during the migration time. If you are using the Encompass web services API for data processing, this will need to be updated during or as soon as possible after the maintenance outage window. The domain name will not change.
- New IP: 20.122.181.2
- Web services domain: Api.imodules.com
(Last updated on: 9th Feb 2022)
Testing the API with the new IP address (20.122.181.2) can be done by using the following base URL:
For example, General Query (https://api.imodules.com/ws/21/generalquery.asmx) can be tested with the new IP address with https://api-az.imodules.com/ws/21/generalquery.asmx
The databases behind the temporary API endpoint are disabled. That means attempting to access information via the API for a site will result in the error message:
<Error Code="0" Description="An unhandled exception occurred while processing the request. Please contact support for more information."/>
This error message is directly from the API error handler and receiving this message means that communication got through to the API and there is not a network/firewall issue, which is the intent of use for the temporary API endpoint. If there is a network/firewall issue, customers will instead encounter the corresponding network/firewall error.
Please note: The API URL is not permanently changing to use a base of https://api-az.imodules.com/
This is a test URL to use for the migration, and this test URL will be disabled shortly after the migration.
API URL Certificate
Our team expects the certificate change would affect more integrations than the IP change. We plan on changing the certificate for the API after the migration and will provide test URLs with the certificate change in a couple weeks.
Will there be a change to the existing email marketing IPs?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
No, there will not be a change to the existing Encompass marketing IPs. The emails that will be affected by the new IPs are system-generated emails, such as Encompass notifications and email confirmations.
Will this migration affect the scheduled exports and our daily import/data sync process?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
Yes. All scheduled tasks, including scheduled data imports and exports, will be disabled at the start of the maintenance window. Once Anthology completes testing, scheduled tasks will be run manually and process anything waiting. Additionally, import files will be picked up on the following Monday morning, February 14, at 5:25 am CT and 7:25 am in the order they have been uploaded. If you are currently using the Auto-SFTP process for your import/data sync, action is required to confirm your SFTP access is not interrupted. You should update and confirm your SFTP Host / User credentials prior to continued imports as our IP will have changed to 20.96.25.122.
What is the new IP for automated SFTP imports?
(Last updated on: 8th Feb 2022)
The new IP for those clients using automated SFTP imports is 20.96.25.122 – this is a change and the previous IP will no longer be recognized following the migration.
The current SFTP domain “sftp.imodules.com” or “prodsftp.imodules.com“ is not changing.
Please note that following the migration you will need to accept the host key detail. If you have an automated SFTP import process set-up, you will need to make sure the configuration is set up to accept the host keys.
Hostkey information for US Prod
- ECDSA/nistp384 host key 384 bits
- MD5 fingerprint: 4a:26:34:ed:e3:40:90:0f:bf:f8:d3:52:9e:26:4e:a0
- Bubble-Babble: xirev-borot-siryz-gyduv-rygiz-zicin-tytef-vykoc-tomyl-lugid-lexax
- SHA-256 fingerprint: IJ9PlElF6Wcy36PgidKJNEYL0/GXOsgEn5rtHo++vmY
Testing the new IP can be done by using the following host URL:
ussftp.imodules.com
This URL is meant for testing, is not permanent, and will be disabled shortly after the migration.
What will be displayed while the site is down?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
A page will be displayed that specifically refers to the maintenance window and informs visitors that the site will again be available by Sunday, February 13, at noon Eastern. The message will be “Our site is currently undergoing planned maintenance. Sites will be restored by Sunday, February 13 at 12 noon Eastern. Please return to the site after that time. We apologize for the inconvenience.” There is not an ability to customize this language as the page will be used across all Encompass sites.
What will happen to scheduled and recurring gifts that should be processed during the outage time?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
Recurring payments are processed overnight on a daily basis. Any recurring payments scheduled for the 12th or 13th will be processed on the morning of February 14th when recurring payments are processed each day.
How will this impact email communications?
(Last updated on: 9th Feb 2022)
During the Migration, the Email Queues will be paused and any messages that are scheduled to send during the window will be picked up and processed after the move is completed. However, we recommend adjusting any messages currently scheduled during the maintenance window to send after the completion of maintenance. Any links in email content sent from Encompass will not function for the duration of the Encompass outage.
What client support will be offered related to the Azure migration?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
In addition to our regular customer support hours and services offered for Encompass, we are offering extended support hours on Sunday, February 13 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. ET.
How can I get added to the email notification list when announcements regarding Encompass are distributed?
(Last updated on: 11th Jan 2022)
We encourage you to have an internal discussion on your campus to determine who should be considered as a primary contact to receive these communications. If updates are needed, you can work with your Customer Experience Manager to do so. If you are unsure of who your Anthology contact person is, please reach out to our customer support team. Given the impact of this migration, information is also being included in the Inspire newsletter, in addition to other communications being sent to identified individuals.