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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.

 

Scheduled Maintenance: Network and Wi-Fi Updates, Data Center, Active Directory, and Shaheen III Upgrade

07 May, 2026

KAUST Community,

The following maintenance activities are planned to keep KAUST IT’s services reliable and performing well. Please review the schedule and expected impacts below.

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.

Data Center Network Firmware Upgrade

When
Saturday, 9 May 2026, 7:00 PM to Sunday, 10 May 2026, 3:00 AM

Impact
You may experience brief interruptions when accessing services hosted within the KAUST Data Center.

Action Required
If you experience connectivity issues during the maintenance window, wait a few minutes and try again.

Active Directory Infrastructure Upgrade

When
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 11:00 PM to Friday, 8 2026, 2:00 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.

Shaheen III GPUP Wi-Fi Access & Policy Standardization

When
Monday, 11 May 2026 to Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Impact
Wi-Fi access for Shaheen III will be enabled through Uni-Fi and iCampus SSIDs, with standardized security posture checks across wired, wireless, and VPN access methods.

The updated security checks include:

  • Devices must use a supported, non-end-of-life operating system
  • Active anti-malware software must be installed and running

Action Required
Please ensure your device is updated and has active anti-malware protection before connecting to Shaheen III services after the upgrade.

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.

You can view all current and past alerts on the IT Website.

We appreciate your understanding as we continue improving KAUST IT’s services.

KAUST IT
it.kaust.edu.sa