Blackboard Access Issue

April 27, 2023 8:31 a.m.
Outage category: 
Blackboard
Location: 
Blackboard
Status: 
Closed

Some users reported issues accessing Blackboard. When users attempt to access Blackboard, they get the following error: “This site can’t be reached.”

Initial symptoms: 

Received a notice from the Support Center via Team Chat.

Duration: 
04/25/2023 2:23 pm
Impact to Mason: 

Some users reported issues accessing Blackboard.

Affected Services: 
Class Collaborate (formerly Blackboard Collaborate Ultra), Blackboard Courses
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
Cause: 

A change was executed to enhance our DNS services to prevent DDoS events. However, this change was not successful which propagated incorrect DNS information across the internet.

Resolution: 

The change was rolled back but DNS is a pull-based request and took time to propagate the correction across the internet.

Prevention: 

Anthology/Blackboard is planning to re-execute the upgrade to our DNS services to prevent issues like the one experienced on 4/20. This change is targeted for Friday 4/28.

STATISTICS
Service Team: 
Online Learning Resources