Y2K: Get Ready for the Main Event
 
As UC Davis departments and offices are preparing to close for the holidays, computer users, network administrators, and managers should take the following steps to ready the computing and power requirements of their departments.

Computer Users

1. Back up all your data and important files before leaving work for the holidays.
2. Turn off your computer and electrical equipment before you leave on the last day of work (no later than December 29). Upon return, check in with your system administrator. If the system administrator gives the "okay," turn on your computer equipment one machine at a time.
3. Know your Y2K departmental coordinator and how to reach him/her if problems arise. See "Year 2000 Help Is at Hand" for further guidance on contacting the appropriate Y2K resource.

System and Network Administrators

1. Protect mission-critical computers and electrical equipment with an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS).
2. Backup all network data repositories, file storage, and databases.
3. Create a reference system that is representative of the type of data, applications, and business functions that run in your department. Before departmental staff return from the holiday, do the following:
   1. Examine the reference system for errant behavior.
   2. Download the latest virus definition file from your vendor and run it on the system .
   3. Check for viruses.
   4. If all goes well on the reference system, start a phased restart of all computers in your department.
   5. If there are problems, inform departmental staff and create a plan to deal with the problem before other machines are affected.

4. On mission-critical systems and departmental servers, disable all nonessential services, such as ftp, gopher, and collaboration applications.
5. Upon return enable full logging of incoming requests on servers and analyze log files to determine if the server experienced any attacks or break-ins.
6. If you have a critical system provided and supported by an outside vendor, know how to reach vendor support staff.

Managers and Supervisors

1. Identify staff for the period immediately preceding and following the New Year (December 28-January 3) to assist with potential problems in computer systems and electrical equipment. Have all names and contact information for these staff readily available and distributed to all staff.
2. Identify follow-up staff (January 4 and beyond) to correct any remaining problems. Have the contact information for these follow-up staff readily available and distributed, as well.
3. If you have a critical system provided by and/or supported by an outside vendor, know how to reach vendor support staff.

Internal email messages and memos are a good way to notify everyone in your department about necessary actions and contact information. Each person should know whom to contact if a problem arises. Early notification and handling of the problem can help fix and prevent future problems of the same type.

To access a template for constructing a Departmental Recovery Plan, see http://planit.ucdavis.edu/recovery/deptRECOVERY/template.html.