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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: Internet, SAP, Application Licensing, and Windows Servers

22 July, 2026

KAUST Community,

The following maintenance activities are planned to keep KAUST IT’s services reliable, secure, and performing well. Several activities are scheduled for Thursday evening, 23 July. Please review the schedule and expected impacts below.

ActivityDetails
Internet Connectivity (Firewall Upgrade)

When

Thursday, 23 July 2026, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Impact

Internet access may be intermittently interrupted across the entire KAUST network. This includes campus buildings, labs, and offices, as well as homes and apartments in the residential areas. Connections should restore on their own within a few moments.

Action Required

No action is required. If you are working, studying, or streaming online during this window, save your work regularly and expect brief interruptions.

SAP Business Warehouse System Upgrade (SAP BW/BI)

When

Thursday, 23 July 2026, 6:00 PM – Sunday, 26 July 2026, 8:00 AM

Impact

Reports that rely on the SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW/BI) will not be available from Thursday evening until Sunday morning. Other SAP functions will remain available.

Action Required

For questions or assistance, please contact the BI Team.

Application License Server Patching

When

Thursday, 23 July 2026, 8:00 PM – Friday, 24 July 2026, 6:00 AM

Impact

Licensed applications that rely on the Application License Server will not be accessible during the maintenance window.

Action Required

Save your work and close any affected licensed applications before 8:00 PM. Do not open or launch these applications during the maintenance window.

If you are planning time-sensitive work, save your progress early and avoid launching licensed tools during this window.

Affected Applications

AbaqusAgilent ADSAgisoft
AnsysAspenPlusATK
AutoCADAvizoBeicip
CadenceChemCADChemkin-Pro
CMGCOMSOL-CKLCOMSOL-FNL
ConcertoConvergeCoventorware-MEMS
CST StudioDCV-NICEDiscovery Studio
DymolaEclipseENVI
Esteco (FRONTIER)FaroForte
FujitsuGabiGeomechanics
GeoMagicGeoWatchGenious
GpromsGridProGT-Suite
HalliburtonHypermeshIDL
Intel CompilersJewelsuiteKappa
MapleMathcadMaterial Studio
MathematicaMATLABMDCS
MentorMestrenovaMinitab
MoveNeuralogNI-LabVIEW
Nice-DCVNvidiaNX-Ideas
OlgaOrigin ProPaleoscan
PetrelPGI CompilersPLEXIM
PointwisePVTsimSIM Center
SolidWorksSynopsysTannerEDA
TecplotTechlogTopspin
TotalviewTrelisUnisim
VSIMXilinx 
Windows Server Security Updates (July 2026)

When

Thursday, 23 July 2026, 8:00 PM – Friday, 24 July 2026, 6:00 AM

Impact

Microsoft’s July 2026 security updates will be applied to KAUST’s Windows servers. Some services hosted on these servers may be briefly unavailable or may restart while the updates are installed.

Action Required

No action is required. Save your work ahead of the maintenance window in case of brief service interruptions.

July 2026 release notes  |  Security Update Guide

KAUST Portal Services (SAP Maintenance)

When

Sunday, 26 July 2026, 3:00 AM – 7:00 AM

Impact

SAP services may be unavailable during this window.

Action Required

For more about the affected services, please refer to the related maintenance notice.

Business Data Center Connectivity (Firewall Upgrade)

When

Thursday, 30 July 2026, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Impact

Systems hosted in the Business Data Center may be intermittently unavailable during this window.

Action Required

No action is required.

Need help?

Contact the IT Service Desk at 910 or 012-808-0910, seven days a week from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Walk-in support is available Sunday to Thursday during business hours.

You can also log a ticket using the KAUST IT Chatbot at vita.kaust.edu.sa.

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

KAUST IT
it.kaust.edu.sa