Banner and Oracle Upgrades

The regular Banner and Oracle maintenance window is scheduled for every Saturday evening starting at sundown until midnight.  During this time any systems that rely on Banner data and the underlying Oracle database may be unavailable.  These services include Banner Admin, Banner Self-service servers (like Registration and Student Profile), Redwood, Vault, CAS authentication or Andrews Secured Websites, TouchNet credit card payment processing.

Sunset calendar for Berrien Springs: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@z-us-49103


Upgrade Key words:

  • Oracle Patches:  This implies the Banner Oracle database server critical patch upgrades which take about 2-3 hours to complete and come out quarterly.  During these upgrades all database instances will be shutdown and any services requiring banner data will be unavailable.  This includes Banner Admin, Banner Self-service servers (like Student Registration, Student Profile, Employee Self-service, etc…), Vault, iVue, prevue, TouchNet credit card backend services, Redwood, CAS authentication for Andrews University secured webpages.
  • Oracle Version Upgrade:  This implies the Banner Oracle database version upgrades which can take 6 - 10 hours to complete and will often be scheduled for multiple days including Saturday nights and part of Sunday for the core upgrade and additional Saturday nights for different Database instance upgrades.  This will typically happen every 1 - 3 years depending on the version of Oracle that Banner supports.  This affects the same resources as the Oracle Patches.
  • Banner Upgrades:  This implies the Banner Admin and Banner Self-Service web servers are being upgraded.  During this time the following services may be intermittently available. Making any updates in these resources is not advisable because servers may become unavailable at any time during an update process.  These services include: Banner Admin, Banner Self-service servers (like Student Registration, Student Profile, Employee Self-service, etc…), Vault, iVue, prevue, TouchNet credit card backend services.
  • Degree Works Upgrades:  This may include upgrades to the Degree Works Oracle database server as well as the different Degree Works application servers.  During this time the Degree Works servers will not be available.
  • Upgrade Restricted:  These are scheduled dates where no upgrades will happen due to events requiring banner services during this upgrade window. To request an Upgrade Restricted date please email dba@andrews.edu with the date and reason and we will evaluate whether we can alter the upgrade schedule. In general, you should plan to not need banner services on Saturday night.
  • Tentative:  This is an unconfirmed maintenance window that will be determined closer to the actual date.

 

Upgrade calendar: This calendar may change as upgrades are approved for deployment into production.  To receive notifications on Thursday or Friday prior to the upgrades please subscribe to the bannerupgrades mailing list: (Subscribe Here)

Date: Upgrade Notes:
September 2, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
September 9, 2023 Tentative
September 16, 2023 None
September 23, 2023 None
September 30, 2023 Degree Works Upgrades
October 7, 2023 Tentative
October 14, 2023 Tentative
October 21, 2023 Tentative
October 28, 2023 Tentative
November 4, 2023 Tentative
November 11, 2023 Tentative
November 18, 2023 Tentative
November 25, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
December 2, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
December 9, 2023 Tentative
December 16, 2023 Tentative
December 23, 2023 Tentative
December 30, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
January 6, 2024 Tentative

Upgrade calendar Archive:

Date: Upgrade Notes:
January 01, 2022 None
January 08, 2022 Banner Upgrades Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
January 15, 2022 Banner Upgrades
January 22, 2022 Oracle Patches
January 29, 2022 Banner Upgrades
February 05, 2022 None
February 12, 2022 Banner and Degree Works Upgrades
February 19, 2022 None
February 26, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
March 05, 2022 Banner Upgrades
March 12, 2022 None
March 19, 2022 Banner Upgrades
March 26, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
April 02, 2022 None
April 09, 2022 None
April 16, 2022 Banner Upgrades and Degree Works Maintenace
April 23, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
April 30, 2022 Tentative
May 07, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
May 14, 2022 Oracle Patches
May 21, 2022 Banner Upgrades and Degree Works Upgrade
May 28, 2022 None
June 04, 2022 None
June 11, 2022 None
June 18, 2022 None
June 25, 2022 None
July 02, 2022 Banner Upgrades
July 09, 2022 Tentative - emergency only
July 16, 2022 Upgrade Restricted(Fall Rush)
July 23, 2022 Upgrade Restricted(Fall Rush)
July 30, 2022 Upgrade Restricted(Fall Rush)
August 06, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
August 13, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
August 20, 2022 Upgrade Restricted(Fall Rush)
August 27, 2022 Upgrade Restricted(Fall Rush)
September 03, 2022 None
September 10, 2022 None
September 17, 2022 None
September 24, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
October 01, 2022 None
October 08, 2022 Oracle Patches
October 15, 2022 None
October 22, 2022 None
October 29, 2022 None
November 05, 2022 Oracle Patches
November 12, 2022 None
November 19, 2022 Banner Upgrades
November 26, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
December 03, 2022 None
December 10, 2022 None
December 17, 2022 None
December 24, 2022 None
December 31, 2022 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
January 7, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
January 14, 2023 Banner Upgrades & Degree Works Maintenance
January 21, 2023 Banner Upgrades (TEST ONLY)
January 28, 2023 Banner Upgrades
February 4, 2023 Oracle Patches
February 11, 2023 Tentative
February 18, 2023 Tentative
February 25, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
March 4, 2023 Tentative
March 11, 2023 Tentative
March 18, 2023 Tentative
March 25, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
April 1, 2023 Tentative
April 8, 2023 Tentative
April 15, 2023 Tentative
April 22, 2023 Banner Upgrades
April 29, 2023 Oracle Patches an Banner Upgrades
May 6, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS,REC)
May 13, 2023 Banner Upgrades
May 20, 2023 Tentative
May 27, 2023 Tentative
June 3, 2023 Banner Upgrades & Oracle Maintenance
June 10, 2023 Tentative
June 17, 2023 Tentative
June 24, 2023 Tentative
July 1, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
July 8, 2023 Tentative
July 15, 2023 Banner Upgrades
July 22, 2023 Oracle Patches
July 29, 2023 None
August 5, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
August 12, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS)
August 19, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (REC)
August 26, 2023 Upgrade Restricted (SFS,REC)