WiscWeb will be using new infrastructure with the release of UW Theme 2.0. With this new infrastructure, there will be a few DNS-related changes that impact website launches.
All sites will need to re-launch
Since IPs of the service will be changing, every site that moves into UW Theme 2.0 will have to undergo a new site “launch.” Users can keep the same wisc.edu domain if they wish.
- Why? In order to officially launch your new site, DNS records will need to be updated to point at the new IP addresses. This process needs to be requested and scheduled through hostmasters.
- What do you need to do? No action is required just yet. But, after you’ve built out your site in UW Theme 2.0, you’ll need to request a site launch as the final step in migrating your site over. Once your site is launched in the new infrastructure, we will archive your old UW Theme Classic site.
WWW domain requirement for certain websites
The new infrastructure will not use static IP addresses and will instead rely on CNAME records for all hosted domains. In some very specific/unique cases, your site may need to publish to a “www” address in the future.
- Why? WiscWeb’s new infrastructure will make better use of available Amazon Web Services (AWS) features so that it can scale to meet campus needs, be more performant, and be more resilient to attacks. In order to use these features, we must rely on CNAMES for DNS records.
- What do you need to do? No action is required of site owners/editors. If your website domains are handled by a delegated hostmaster, they may need to make changes when your site re-launches in UW Theme 2.0. This potential impact has already been communicated to hostmasters across campus for awareness and the WiscWeb team will let them know if any specific configurations are required.
Non-wisc.edu domains
WiscWeb will no longer be hosting .org/.com/etc. domains directly. For groups that wish to use non-wisc.edu domains, you will need to forward those addresses to a wisc.edu domain.
- Why? For the past several years, WiscWeb has dissallowed groups from publishing to non-wisc.edu domains for newly launching sites. There are only a handful of groups left who still have non-wisc.edu domains in WiscWeb. This shift allows us to relinquish the support/maintenance required for these types of domains, which often involves working through a 3rd party domain registrar.
- What do you need to do? If you have a non-wisc.edu domain for your WiscWeb site currently, start thinking of the wisc.edu domain you’ll want to publish to in the future. You may also want to look into how domain forwarding works for your domain registrar/vendor.
Timeline
These changes will go into effect for any newly launching websites in the new infrastructure/UW Theme 2.0. No changes are required until groups migrate over and schedule their new website launches.
Questions
If you have questions regarding this shift, please connect with the WiscWeb team via the Customer Support Form on the WiscWeb website. Our team is happy to work through any questions that you might have.