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.
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
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 SwitchesPlanned 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.
27 September, 2026
IT Maintenance Notice: IT Website MaintenanceThe 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.
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.
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:
All past IT service alerts are listed below, including scheduled maintenance notices, unplanned outages, and service restoration updates.
23 April, 2026
| Activity | Details |
|---|---|
| Campus-Wide Network Upgrade | When Recurring daily, 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM Starting from Thursday, 23 April 2026 to Saturday, 30 May 2026 Impact Each building may experience a short outage (up to 20 minutes) affecting internet, Wi-Fi, IP phones, and connected systems. Fire alarm connectivity may also be briefly impacted in affected buildings.
Action Required Save your work in advance and plan for brief connectivity interruptions during the window. |
| Wi-Fi Edge Analytics Enablement | When Thursday, 23 April 2026, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Impact This change will affect all Wi-Fi networks (SSIDs) across campus and residential areas.
You may experience a brief loss of Wi-Fi connectivity during the activity. Action Required If you experience a disconnect, simply reconnect and continue as normal. |
| Data Backup Services Maintenance (Atempo Lina) | When Thursday, 23 April 2026, 3:00 PM to Sunday, 26 April 2026, 10:00 AM
Impact Backup and restore services will be unavailable during the maintenance window.
Action Required Please avoid using backup services to back up or restore data during this time. We recommend planning any backup or restore activities before or after the maintenance window.
|
| Active Directory Infrastructure Upgrade | When Thursday, 23 April 2026, 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM Friday, 24 April 2026, 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM Impact You may experience intermittent login or authentication issues across KAUST systems.
Action Required Avoid accessing critical systems during this time where possible. If you experience issues, wait a few minutes and try again.
|
| GitLab Upgrade | When Thursday, 30 April 2026, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Impact GitLab services will be offline (read only) during the upgrade.
Action Required Avoid performing critical work on GitLab during this time where possible.
|
| SAP Solution Manager and Related Services Maintenance | When Thursday, 23 April 2026, 9:00 PM to Friday, 24 April 2026, 1:00 AM
Impact The following services will be temporarily unavailable:
Action Required Avoid submitting requests or performing password resets during the maintenance window.
|
| Email Security Notification Update (Macros Blocked) | When Already in effect
Impact Community members now receive improved guidance when emails containing macro-enabled attachments are blocked. This update helps clarify why emails are blocked and what steps to take next.
Action Required No action required. Learn more here.
|
| Copilot Availability Change in Microsoft 365 Apps | When Already in effect
Impact Copilot is no longer available inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote unless you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
This change is expected and part of a vendor update. It does not indicate an issue with your account or system. You may now see clearer distinctions such as:
Copilot features in Outlook for email and calendar remain available. Action Required |
