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IT Alerts

This page lists all official IT service alerts shared with the KAUST community. Alerts are also delivered directly to your KAUST email.

Standard Weekly Maintenance Window

Thursday at 5:00 PM to Saturday at 8:00 PM. During this window, some services may experience temporary slowdowns, intermittent issues, or brief outages while essential maintenance is performed.

Vendor-Scheduled Maintenance

Some KAUST systems hosted on the KAUST Portal (portal.kaust.edu.sa) are maintained directly by our cloud vendor. These activities are scheduled quarterly and are independent of KAUST IT's regular maintenance windows. They may temporarily affect the availability or performance of several online services.

View Planned Vendor Maintenance

 

Recent Alerts

The most recent IT service alerts are shown below. For the full history, see the archive further down this page.

 

30 September, 2026

Scheduled Maintenance: KAUST Sign-In Services, IT Website, and Network Switches

Planned IT maintenance includes a 30-minute KAUST sign-in maintenance window, IT Website maintenance, and ongoing network switch upgrades. Review the schedule and any action you may need to take.

Read more

27 September, 2026

IT Maintenance Notice: IT Website Maintenance

The KAUST IT Website will undergo maintenance on Tuesday, 6 October, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. No downtime is expected, but the website may be slower than usual during this time.

Read more

 

About IT Alerts and the Change Advisory Board

The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is a cross-functional group within KAUST IT that reviews and approves proposed IT changes to maintain service reliability and reduce risk. The CAB Chair is appointed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

For urgent or high-impact situations, the Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB) may be activated to ensure timely decisions while protecting service stability.

Learn more about the CAB

When Are Alerts Issued?

All IT changes are reviewed under the Change Management process. When communication is needed, an IT Alert is published and shared with the KAUST community. This includes:

  • Scheduled or planned service changes
  • Changes affecting specific groups or areas (such as faculty, students, or building residents)
  • Unplanned outages or urgent service issues

 

Alerts Archive

All past IT service alerts are listed below, including scheduled maintenance notices, unplanned outages, and service restoration updates.

 

Planned Maintenance - Campus Network Upgrade, Wired Network Optimization in Campus Buildings, and Application License Server Maintenance

18 September, 2025

KAUST Community,

Please find below the planned IT maintenance activities that may affect access to IT services. Kindly review the impact and follow the recommended actions to avoid any disruption.

1. Campus Network Upgrade

When: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 7:00 PM to Saturday, September 20, 2025, 6:00 PM

Impact: We will be upgrading the software of the network equipment across campus buildings. Each building may experience one short interruption, up to 20 minutes, of internet, Wi-Fi, IP phones, and other connected systems.

Action required:

  • Save your work and plan ahead for possible connectivity interruptions.
  • Expect a brief outage, up to 20 minutes, at some point during the maintenance window.
  • All IT communications in affected campus buildings, including internet, Wi-Fi, IP phones, and fire alarm systems, will be temporarily unavailable during the upgrade.

2. Upcoming Wired Network Optimization to Campus Buildings

When: Changes will be applied per building during the following windows, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

  • Thursday, October 2: Buildings 14 and 18
  • Tuesday, October 7: Building 4
  • Thursday, October 9: Building 5
  • Tuesday, October 14: Building 1
  • Thursday, October 16: Building 2
  • Tuesday, October 21: Building 3
  • Thursday, October 23: Building 12
  • Tuesday, October 28: Building 9

Impact: Community members connected to the wired network in these buildings may experience multiple disconnections during the activity window.

Action required: This is an early notification. More details and reminders will be shared closer to each scheduled activity.

3. Application License Server Maintenance

When: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 8:00 PM to Friday, September 19, 2025, 4:00 AM

Impact: No access to licensed applications during this time.

Action required:

  • Please do not open or use any licensed applications during the maintenance window.
  • If already in use, please save your work and close the application before 8:00 PM on Thursday.

Affected Applications (alphabetical)

  • Abaqus
  • Agilent ADS
  • Agisoft
  • Ansys
  • AspenPlus
  • ATK
  • AutoCAD
  • Avizo
  • Beicip
  • Cadence
  • ChemCAD
  • Chemkin-Pro
  • CMG
  • COMSOL-CKL
  • COMSOL-FNL
  • Converge
  • Concerto
  • Coventorware-MEMS
  • CST Studio
  • DCV-NICE
  • Discovery Studio
  • Dymola
  • Eclipse
  • ENVI
  • Esteco (FRONTIER)
  • Faro
  • Forte
  • Fujitsu
  • Gabi
  • Geomechanics
  • GeoMagic
  • GeoWatch
  • Genious
  • Gproms
  • GridPro
  • GT-Suite
  • Halliburton
  • Hypermesh
  • IDL
  • Intel Compilers
  • Jewelsuite
  • Kappa
  • NI-LabVIEW
  • Maple
  • Mathcad
  • Material Studio
  • Mathematica
  • MATLAB
  • MDCS
  • Mentor
  • Mestrenova
  • Minitab
  • Move
  • Neuralog
  • Nvidia
  • NX-Ideas
  • Nice-DCV
  • Origin Pro
  • Olga
  • Paleoscan
  • Petrel
  • PGI Compilers
  • PLEXIM
  • Pointwise
  • PVTsim
  • SolidWorks
  • Synopsys
  • SIM Center
  • Trelis
  • TannerEDA
  • Tecplot
  • Techlog
  • Topspin
  • Totalview
  • Unisim
  • VSIM
  • Xilinx

Need help? Contact the IT Service Desk at 910 or 012-808-0910, or visit the walk-in support desk during business hours.

You can also log a ticket using our virtual assistant, VITA, at it.kaust.edu.sa or vita.kaust.edu.sa.

KAUST IT