FAQ - migrating to Jenzabar hosted EX
Why are we doing this? Jenzabar EX is our Student Information system which is our central repository for all our data. The present system is hosted on our servers and managed by IT. When we move the system, application and databases to the Jenzabar Hosted environment, Jenzabar will manage the servers and also perform all application upgrades including the year-end update. After we are fully in a hosted environment, jenzabar will then assist us to move to the next version of EX which is J1.
Moving our EX server into a cloud-hosted environment has several strategic benefits:
1. Security: the hosted environment is physically located within a secure datacenter. Typically datacenters are buildings with very limited physical access (few doors, no windows, and a 24-hour security presence). As good as Manny, Brian and John McAloon are, they cannot be expected to provide physical security to the server room in the same manner as at a datacenter.
2. Disaster Recovery: Datacenters typically have redundant power systems and redundant internet connections in order to minimize downtime. Additionally they have
3. Maintenance: Suzanne has been responsible for monitoring the performance, and performing upgrades for many years. But as good as she is, there are advantages to having the maker of the product itself be responsible for maintenance.
When is this happening? At the close of business on Friday, December 9 2022, we will disable the EX database and our various applications which connect to EX (inside.ptsem.edu, online payments & giving, JICS (drop-add, faculty grading). This will ensure that no transactions will occur in the database during the migration period.
A certain period of preparation and preliminary testing will follow on the night of Friday December 9, culminating in the migration of the production database early on Saturday December 10.
When the Jenzabar team informs us that their migration work is complete we will undergo a period of testing and validation. The IT team will begin this testing/validation process and will enlist the support of a handful of key EX users from various departments in the process to ensure that the migrated system works as expected.
On Monday Dec. 12, the EX application will be fully hosted on Jenzabar Cloud.
Will any updates I make in EX transfer over when we migrate? Yes, all data and updates made from within the EX applications will transfer over to the Cloud hosted application.
How can I prepare for this migration? Please take some screen-shots of any custom reports you run from within the EX application. These are reports which appear in drop-downs within the EX application. For assistance, please reach out to the Enterprise Team or the PTS Helpdesk and we will assist you in identifying the custom reports you run.
When will testing commence and for how long? IT has been testing the cloud version of EX since September and our users started testing key modules around mid-October this year.
Whom should we call if we have issues during testing or after the cut-over? Continue to contact the help desk as you normally would.
Directly using the ticket system (which you can trigger by sending an email to help@ptsem.edu) is the best way to get the proper audience for your question. Please include screenshots that depict the specific area of EX you are using is greatly appreciated (and can cut down greatly on your need to explain your situation as well).
What has changed in the new system? The version of EX is exactly the same, however you will notice some subtle differences.
1. The EX icon on the windows task-bar has a tiny circle (while the Live EX application doesn't).
2. When "saving" reports, pdf's or when saving to Excel or Word, you would notice that the Share/Drive names are different.
3. When printing, please ensure that you can print from the remote EX application.
4. Please refer to this document for further details PDf Handout: How to setup a new connection to EX Hosted.
How do I access the new (hosted) system? After we complete the migration and reopen EX for use once again, please locate the EX application from the Start menu (as seen below). This will be the method you use to start the EX application. Feel free to save the icon to your start menu, taskbar, or desktop for even easier access! 