Important Notice: AWS Migration
Update: As of 11/21/24 all US, UK, France, Mexico clients have now been migrated.
What's Remaining:
- File Transfer Server (SFTP): Scheduled for January 4
Terra Dotta will migrate customers to AWS in small batches to provide dedicated support during each migration phase. Customers will receive individual communication with their migration date and any required actions, allowing sufficient preparation time.
Prioritizing customer experience, the phased migration aims to establish a robust, high-performance AWS foundation while minimizing disruptions. Clear communication will be maintained throughout the process to ensure a seamless transition.
Note: Available beginning in September there will also be several dedicated AWS Migration office hours hosted in our Learning Center.
FAQ
Q: When will I be moving to AWS?
A: Migrations will start in April 2024 and continue throughout the year. You will be contacted via email 4-5 weeks prior to the scheduled migration date for your institution.
Q: Why was the original migration to AWS postponed?
A: Terra Dotta has determined that the best approach is to migrate our customers in small groups vs. all at once.
Q: What will my transition to AWS look like?
A: 4-5 Weeks Prior
- Communication with Customers to Inform Scheduled Migration Date
2 Weeks Prior to Transition
- Communication with Customers to Confirm Upcoming Migration Details and Timing
Cutover Day 1
- Communication with Customers on Saturday
- Establish System Outage for Customers Data Migrations begins.
Cutover Day 2
- Communication with Customers on Sunday
- Data Migration and Configuration Completes, Internal Go/No Go, Remove Outage, or Rollback
Post Migration
- Sunday Evening – Monday Morning
- Client Validation, Go, No Go Determination
Q: What steps are being taken to ensure a smooth migration?
A: We will be migrating customers in small groups starting in April. For each group we are actively reviewing and profiling every customer configuration to identify any potential outliers that could cause service disruptions. This proactive approach will help us address any issues before the migration and ensure a smooth transition based on each deployment profile.
Q: What are the benefits of the migration to AWS for us as customers?
A: Migrating to AWS is a foundational step to improving the reliability and performance of Terra Dotta's solutions in the future. The AWS Migration will allow TD to continue to improve Security Posture, High Availability and Disaster Recovery Posture.
Q: What happens if there are still issues after the migration takes place?
A: We are taking every precaution to minimize potential issues by careful characterization and planning ahead of time. Our customer success and support teams will be available to promptly address any issues that may arise after the migration.
Q: Will there be any additional communication regarding the migration?
A: Yes, as we progress with the migration preparations, we will keep you informed every step of the way. We will provide regular updates to ensure you have all the necessary information for a successful migration.
Q: Will clients need to change any firewall settings?
A: If you are whitelisting outbound IP addresses from your internal firewall, please whitelist the three load-balanced IP addresses: 54.205.71.84, 54.157.187.77, and 34.198.66.43
Q: Will there be any changes to the SLA with AWS?
A: If you are whitelisting outbound IP addresses from your internal firewall, please whitelist the three load-balanced IP addresses: 54.205.71.84, 54.157.187.77, 34.198.66.43
Q: Will a testing process be given prior to the cutover weekend?
A: The guidance for testing is to perform login and test the system features your organization typically uses. There will be no functional changes to test.
Q: How will the data be transferred over to AWS?
A: TDS will utilize a secure connection to AWS to transfer data.
Technical Information
- Timeline (updated)
- Email Delivery
- Vanity URLS
- Single Sign-On
Timeline
The upgrade will happen in small groups and is currently scheduled to begin April 6, 2024. During this time, the Terra Dotta Platform will be temporarily unavailable. Rest assured, we will provide additional communication reminders as the date nears and as applicable during this maintenance window.
As a part of our shared responsibility model, we need to ensure that your company and Terra Dotta’s domain name system (DNS) records align to ensure that web traffic and email traffic will continue in an uninterrupted fashion once our transition has completed. This change has the potential to affect various services during the cutover period, as described in the sections below.
Email Delivery
Action Required by December 3, 2024
See details here: Email Server Migration: Action Required by December 3, 2024
Vanity URLs
If you have a vanity web URL, such as “studyabroad.yourcollege.edu,” as your Terra Dotta landing page. Your team might have added a CNAME record (a name that points to another name - e.g. studyabroad.yourcollege.edu that points to yourcollege-sa.terradotta.com). If this is the case, then no change needs to be made on your part. If your vanity URL points to an IP address, (e.g. studyabroad.yourcollege.edu points to 5.6.7.8), then we will ask you to change that record to point to a CNAME before the change window, or your staff will need to make the change to the new IP during our planned cutover to maintain service.
If you are currently using an IP address for your vanity URL, you may wish to consider changing to a CNAME record instead. In doing so, you will avoid the need to manage the timing of this changeover. If you opt to stay with an IP address, it will be necessary to coordinate changing the IP address during the weekend of the cutover.
SFTP Connectivity:
File Transfer Service ( SFTP ) Migration is scheduled for January 4, 2025. If you are whitelisting outbound IP addresses from your internal firewall, please whitelist the three load-balanced IP addresses: 54.205.71.84, 54.157.187.77, and 34.198.66.43. Otherwise, no action is required on your part.
Please note there will be a 'file outage' starting Saturday, January 4, at 9:00 AM EST and ending Sunday, January 5, at 5:00 PM EST. During this time, file transfer functionality will be offline. However, all other system functions will remain accessible.
Single Sign-on
If your institution uses LDAP for Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication, then the IP Address must also be updated within its configuration following the migration.
The IP Address will need to be changed from 216.248.199.106 (current) to 52.86.188.131
Please note that LDAP is the only SSO that whitelists IP Addresses. If your institution uses a different SSO for authentication, then no changes are required.
If you have any questions, or require further information about this transition, please reach out to our support team by emailing support@terradotta.com, and use the Subject line: “AWS Migration”.
We value your partnership and are committed to assisting you during this transition.
Thank you for your continued support.
Best regards,
Terra Dotta
**NOTE: If you contract for a Terra Dotta Staging site, please contact Terra Dotta Support for additional information about Staging Site IP Addresses.