Status report, July 2014

11 CCB Research groups have a CU Blogs instance:

• 10 CCB research web sites are fully using CU Blogs (as is ChemIT/ PhysIT, which is not counted here)
• 3 CCB research groups are evaluating CU Blogs

Regarding the remaining CCB research web sites:

• 7 other active CCB research groups Oliver guesses may benefit from evaluating CU Blogs.
• 8 remaining CCB research groups or faculty with web sites, but Oliver can't guess its value to them.

For more information on the above counts, please see our page listing ALL CCB web sites and their hosting locations.

Service links

The CU Blogs hosting service is free.

CIT's Academic Technologies Center (ATC)

• http://www.it.cornell.edu/services/atc/faq.cfm
• atc_support@cornell.edu

Sample request for assistance, to get you started, if you'd like.

All of ATC's direct services are free; they don't have a charging mechanism.

The ATC can help you use, often for free, many CIT services, as well as some non-Cornell services if they'll better meet your needs.

There is also high-quality, free-to-you (Cornell has paid), on-line training for the blogs available at Lynda.com:

• http://lynda.com/

When logging in, select "Log in through your organization or school". ATC states there are also tutorials at:

• http://help.edublogs.org/

Lastly, there is a fee-based CIT resource available to meet much more complex web-based needs:

• CIT's Integrated Web Services (IWS)* http://www.it.cornell.edu/about/atsus/iws/services.cfm

Jump start

1. Create an account

Anyone needing to edit a blog has to create an account on CU Blogs. Doing so is as easy as just logging it. That's it!

Here are the precise steps:

• Go to <https://blogs.cornell.edu/wp-login.php>
• Click the blue button that says, “Use My ID” in the top box (just under the words, “Log in to my blog”).
• This will take you to a NetID authentication page. On that page, enter your NetID and password and press, “Login”.

CIT's documentation page has screenshots of these steps.

That's it! Having done this will create an account with CU Blogs.

2. PI's: Create your research group's blog site.

Choose a short name, for the URL.

• Note that this short name won't be that important once the group's CNAME <groupname.chem.cornell.edu> points to the finished site.

Common research naming conventions in CCB are based on the PI's last name (group name). Here are examples of short names:

• groupname
• groupnamelab
• groupnamegroup

Grad students can't do this step, only staff or faculty can. Grad students can make a request to ATC to create the blog (as can faculty and staff, if desired).

• If requesting that ATC make the site, provide them the desired short name, please.

3. Build your research group's web site.

• Build your site within CU Blogs

When you are all done:

4. Cut-over steps

Contact ChemIT if you need any assistance with any of this- thank you.

1. Confirm your group's new web site on CU Blogs is ready for production.

2. Contact CIT Webservices <webservices@cornell.edu> to do the domain name transition.

Include your group's CU Blog address and your group's domain name (which points to where your old web site is). Example:

=======================
Subject: CNAME CU Blog change request

 Hello,

 Please make the appropriate DNS and blog configuration changes to change the blog at <http://blogs.cornell.edu/groupname> to get pointed to by <http://groupname.chem.cornell.edu>.

 Please let me know if you have any problems or concerns on this. Thank you!

 =======================

3. Confirm the cut-over worked.

4. Your old group's site is still accessible via the same WebDAV address your group used to edit it in the past. You just will not be able to see it via a web browser.

5. Once you have confirmed all is working correctly with your new web site, contact ChemIT so we can coordinate the shutdown of the group's old web site (hosted at CIT's Static web site service) with your group, and  make sure you have the files you want.

• Q: Request a copy of your old site from ChemIT, if it was hosted at CIT's static web site (as most were)?
• Once everything is confirmed with you, ChemIT will then tell CIT Webservices to shutdown, disable, and destroy the old infrastructure for your group’s old static website.

Examples

Chemistry Research groups using CU Blogs

Completed migration

Wolczanski Research Group

• http://wolczanski.chem.cornell.edu/
  • Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/wolczanski/
• Place-holder URL pointing to old site (A&S static; from CIT static), retained only for "before-and-after" comparisons:
  • http://oldstaticweb.chem.cornell.edu/index2.html

Marohn Research Group

• http://marohn.chem.cornell.edu/
  • Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/marohnlab/

Baird Research Group

• http://baird.chem.cornell.edu/
  • Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/bairdgroup/
• CIT/ ATC/ assisted Kelly (INC000000948841), w/ ChemIT (Oliver's) assistance (INC000000977199).

Crane Research Group

• http://crane.chem.cornell.edu/
  • Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/cranegroup
• Estella started this process herself, without need of ChemIT.

Lewis Research Group

• http://lewis.chem.cornell.edu/
• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/lewislab/

Lin Research Group

• http://lin.chem.cornell.edu/
• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/thelingroup/

Dichtel Research Group

• http://dichtel.chem.cornell.edu/
• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/dichtelgroup/
• CIT/ ATC/ John Udall: INC000000895224
• Private domain name <http://www.williamdichtel.com/> still pointing to UCLA-hosted site:
  • http://169.232.135.167/

Coates Research Group

• http://coates.chem.cornell.edu/
• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/coates/
• 6/18/14: Migrated, with DNS change.
• 4/18/14: Maria asked John Udall (ATC) on the status of the site (CIT: INC000001067904).
• 3/26/14: Oliver requested site be created, on Coates's and Maria's behalf.
• 3/18/14: Idea being considered <mjs657>

Fors Research Group

• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/fors/
• Current => http://fors.chem.cornell.edu/
• 7/25/14: Oliver checked, and site was public and live.
• 3/21/14: Process started, with Oliver.

Hoffmann Research Group

• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/hoffmann/
• Current => http://hoffmann.chem.cornell.edu/
• CIT/ ATC/ John Udall: INC000000978486 (under Oliver's name)
• 7/25/14: DNS change request to CIT.

DiStasio Research Group

• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/distasio
• Current => http://distasio.chem.cornell.edu/
• Feb 2015: New, for upcoming July 1st appointment.

In progress

Collum Research Group

• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/collum/
• Current => http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/
  • Resolves to messy URL => http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/Home.html
• Working with Russell Algera <rfa27> to have CIT mock up to consider issues if moved to EduBlogs.
• 11/20/14:
  • Migration issue: WordPress renames all uploaded files by appending a unique number to the end of the file name. Thus, find out how important retaining current file names are to Collum for his PDFs and for same-named *.asv and *.m files. Examples:
    
    • <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/Group_Resources.html> and <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/Publications.html>.
    • http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/ED-enolates.html
    • <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/Job_Plot_Files.html>, under "6.Single Aggregate-no error": data1.asv => data1.asv and data1 => data1.m.
  • Non-migration issues (errors found on existing site)
  • • Link rot at <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/NMR.html>.
      • Change <http://128.253.86.160/howto.shtml> to <http://nmrscheduler.chem.cornell.edu/howto.shtml>.
    • Security concern at <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/dbc6/Group_Resources.html>.
      • Door code and passwords published publicly at <http://collum.chem.cornell.edu/documents/Crystal_Search.pdf>
      • Q's: Keep public? Remove? Make private?
• 8/25/14: Re-requested CIT create a mock-up. And work directly with Oliver, to start.
  
  • CIT's Remedy new ticket number is INC000001180953
• 7/25/14: CIT's Remedy ticket number is INC000000984409
  
  • See notes. CUBlogs not able to meet Group's needs?
• From: John S. Udall
  Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 10:40 AM
  To: Oliver B. Habicht
  Subject: Chemistry reseach group website migrations

Oliver,
I was looking through the list of sites that you sent and noticed that Collum Group is still just a shell of a site with no content -- http://blogs.cornell.edu/collum/&nbsp; This site was setup for grad student Laura Tomasevich (LLT42) in 1/2013.  I presume that this was one of the first of the Chemistry research group website/blogs.   I just wanted to make you aware so that you didn't think that this one was a.) done, or b.) if you wanted to touch-base with the grad student or faculty members involved.    If you would like Academic Technologies to follow-up afterwards, please let us know.

Davis Research Group

• Points to => http://blogs.cornell.edu/davis/
• Current => http://davis.chem.cornell.edu/
• Doing by himself, for now.

See also

• Inventory of web sites and hosting locations

Arts and Science departments using CU Blogs

• http://globalsouthproject.cornell.edu/
• http://archaeology.cornell.edu/
• http://ciams.cornell.edu/

Examples from ATC (CIT)

• http://blogs.cornell.edu/bcat/