The decision to upgrade the system was based in part on the fact that SCT (the Banner software company) and Oracle require their customers to stay current with their software versions for full product support, a practice that prevails throughout the computer industry. To comply, IT will upgrade the Banner application to version 3.1 and the Oracle database to version 8.0.5.

The system, from the hardware to the database and application, will also be fully Year 2000 compliant.

The Banner software upgrade, from v2.1 to 3.1, is minor compared to the major upgrade that occurred in December 1997 when Banner was converted from a character-based mode to a graphical user interface (GUI). The 3.1 version brings the users closer to a more full-featured GUI environment.

Two of the new GUI features are a toolbar and a menu bar. The new toolbar contains small iconic buttons which, when pressed, perform a wide variety of functions, from simple commands like "Commit/Save," to calling Acrobat Reader to access Banner documentation, and launching a Web browser to enter the Banner Web for Students Web site.

The new on-screen menus have been improved and now function similarly to the Windows and Mac drill-down menus. The menu interface is similar to other Windows software applications, such as Word and Excel, which should make the system easier to use. There are also GUI buttons that enable users to switch between functions and to use the new support services provided by Banner. Finally, individuals who consistently use forms that appear on several different menus will be able to create a personalized menu combining all their commonly used forms.

In addition to the Banner software upgrade, the Oracle database, which supports the Banner application, will be upgraded from version 7.3.3.5 to version 8.0.5, thus ensuring full product support from Oracle. The database has grown to 30 GB (gigabytes) since it was implemented in 1992, and it is estimated to double in size over the next five years.

The current database servers, which were installed in 1992 and upgraded four years ago, have exceeded the typical hardware lifespan. (Computer hardware typically has a three-to-five-year life cycle.) To stay current, the database servers will be replaced with new hardware comprised of two Sun Enterprise 5500 servers. The production server will be powered by six 336 mHz UltraSPARC-II processors, 2GB of memory, and 256GB of disk space. The development server will have four 336mHz UltraSPARC-II processors, 2 GB of memory and 128 GB of disk space.

The other hardware component is the applications servers -- known as the Citrix servers -- which run the Banner software. These servers will not be affected by this upgrade.

To make this transition successful, more than 20 IT and Office of the Registrar staff members are working nights and weekends to implement the upgrades by the July 4 deadline. The July 4 weekend, which follows graduation ceremonies and precedes summer advising, was chosen because the system is typically not used as heavily during that time.

Presentations will be held before the upgrade to give users a preview of the new Banner interface and features. It is strongly recommended that all Banner users and Technology Support Coordinators (TSCs) attend one of these presentations:

Audience	Location	Date	Time
TSCs	MUII	June 16	10 a.m. or 2 p.m.
Staff	Soc. Sci. 1100	June 24	10 a.m. or 2 p.m.

For additional assistance with the upgraded Banner interface, workshops will be held after the July 4 upgrade. Workshop space is limited. More information will be available at the presentations.

Nicole Collins and other IT-Information Resources staff contributed to this story.