Report published detailing recent dark data center test by CU*Answers

On February 24, 2022, CU*Answers published the availability of the gap analysis report detailing the results of a Dark Data Center test as part of a remodel project to upgrade the Emergency Power Off (EPO) safety system. Prior to the power interruption at the production data center, member-facing core-processing applications including online and mobile banking were redirected to systems at the secondary data center. “With the experience gained from more than a decade of regular, live, production system rollovers, teams were very confident going into the event,” said Jim Lawrence, VP of Operations and Business Continuity.

With multiple sources of power implemented at each data center as part of the overall strategy, power interruptions are a rare occurrence. Intentionally shutting off power as part of a remodel project gave the CUSO the opportunity to learn about the interdependencies of all systems and networks at a level that daily operations can’t provide. The knowledge gained from these types of events is  extremely valuable as CU*Answers seeks to continually enhance its resilience in the wide range of digital services it provides for credit unions.

CU*Answers schedules and conducts live production rollovers every six months involving all online credit unions to test their capabilities to recover core processing applications promptly and effectively in the event of an unplanned disruptive incident. With every test, gaps and weaknesses are exposed and corrected. Rather than just announce each rollover event, CU*Answers has a history of sharing the gaps and corrective actions taken in the form of a report, published for each in-network credit union to review, and to the public at large, reflecting the investment and effort put into the corporate Business Continuity program.

The reports are available at from the CU*Answers website as well as details about the CU*Answers high availability program, including information and resources to assist credit unions in the design and testing of their own continuity and recovery programs.

Reminder: HA Rollback This Weekend

Reminder: HA Rollback This Weekend

This is a reminder of the high-availability rollback event that will be occurring this weekend.  The rollback process will begin Sunday, March 17th at 3:00 AM ET. During this time, there will be a period of approximately 60 to 90 minutes that will include an interruption to the following services: CU*BASE/GOLD, CU*Talk audio response and… Read more »

Mar 14, 2024

HA Rollover Event this Weekend – Updates to be Posted on CU*BASE Alerts Page

HA Rollover Event this Weekend – Updates to be Posted on CU*BASE Alerts Page

Don’t forget: this weekend, we will be testing our ability to redirect CU*BASE core-processing from our production data center to our high-availability (HA) data center.  The Rollover event is scheduled to begin at 1:00 AM ET on Sunday, March 10th.  Once completed, CU*BASE core-processing will be provided from systems at the HA data center for… Read more »

Mar 7, 2024

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Twice each year, CU*Answers tests our ability to redirect CU*BASE core-processing from our production data center in Kentwood, MI to our high-availability (HA) data center in Yankton, SD.  The next HA rollover is scheduled for Sunday, March 10th. The rollover is scheduled to begin at 1:00 AM ET on Sunday, March 10th with the rollback… Read more »

Feb 27, 2024

Network Maintenance Project Scheduled for Sunday, March 10th

Network Maintenance Project Scheduled for Sunday, March 10th

As a reminder, CU*Answers will be performing our next CU*BASE high-availability (HA) rollover on Sunday, March 10th.   That same morning, teams will be rolling over online and mobile banking systems to servers at our secondary data center. These rollovers are in preparation for a maintenance project at our production data center that will include… Read more »

Feb 27, 2024

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Twice each year, CU*Answers tests our ability to redirect CU*BASE core-processing from our production data center in Kentwood, MI to our high-availability (HA) data center in Yankton, SD.  The next HA rollover is scheduled for Sunday, March 10th. The rollover is scheduled to begin at 1:00 AM ET on Sunday, March 10th with the rollback… Read more »

Feb 27, 2024

Network Maintenance Project Scheduled for Sunday, March 10th

Network Maintenance Project Scheduled for Sunday, March 10th

As a reminder, CU*Answers will be performing our next CU*BASE high-availability (HA) rollover on Sunday, March 10th.   That same morning, teams will be rolling over online and mobile banking systems to servers at our secondary data center. These rollovers are in preparation for a maintenance project at our production data center that will include… Read more »

Feb 27, 2024

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Reminder: The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Twice each year, CU*Answers tests our ability to redirect CU*BASE core-processing from our production data center in Kentwood, MI to our high-availability (HA) data center in Yankton, SD.  The next HA rollover is scheduled for Sunday, March 10th. The rollover is scheduled to begin at 1:00 AM ET on Sunday, March 10th with the rollback… Read more »

Feb 21, 2024

Online Banking Rollover Event Tomorrow – Updates to be Posted on the CU*BASE Alerts Page

Online Banking Rollover Event Tomorrow – Updates to be Posted on the CU*BASE Alerts Page

Don’t forget: tomorrow morning, we will be performing a Rollover for It’s Me 247 online/mobile banking (OLB) environments, as well as BizLink 247 online banking for business.  The Rollover event is scheduled to begin at 5:00 AM ET (2:00 AM PT) on Wednesday, February 14th, with the rollback scheduled for 6:00 AM ET (3:00 AM… Read more »

Feb 13, 2024

The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

The Next HA Rollover is Coming March 10th – We Need You to Perform a Connectivity Test!

Twice each year, CU*Answers tests our ability to redirect CU*BASE core-processing from our production data center to our high-availability (HA) data center.  The next HA rollover is scheduled for Sunday, March 10th. This rollover will enable support teams to perform planned network maintenance at the primary production data center without disrupting core processing.  The rollover… Read more »

Feb 21, 2024

Mark Your Calendar for the Next Online Banking Rollover

Mark Your Calendar for the Next Online Banking Rollover

On Wednesday, February 14th, from 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM ET (2:00 AM to 3:00 AM PT), we will be performing a Rollover for It’s Me 247 online/mobile banking (OLB) environments, as well as BizLink 247 online banking for business.  During this one-hour period, online and mobile banking will run live on servers at our… Read more »

Feb 9, 2024