Smack in the middle of midterms and job recruitment season, School of Arts and Sciences Webmail crashed yesterday.
Webmail went down in the late afternoon and appeared to have come back online in the early morning hours today.
Officials have not yet disclosed the problem that led to the downtime.
"We are working on the problem," said SAS Information Technology Executive Director Ira Winston in an e-mail last night.
SAS Webmail last crashed Sept. 6 because of a faulty update from its software company, Sun Microsystems, Inc. It took the Webmail system seven hours to reboot because each individual message had to be scanned for errors.
But with the planned switch to Google or Microsoft services beginning this spring, students can expect the technical difficulties to end, Winston has said in past interviews.
These two technology behemoths are vying for the contract to serve Penn because of the subsequent access they would get to students. The decision between the competing providers' offers will take place by early November.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.