NOAA Finance Office

CBS Tech Refresh and Data Center Move

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Things to do BEFORE CBS moves to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

Background Information

Why is CBS moving to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV?

The move of CBS from the NOAA Information Technology Center (ITC) in Largo, MD to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV is a result of the OCIO Data Center Consolidation effort. In addition to the move, we are also refreshing technology and infrastructure.

System Availability

Will there be downtime for this transition to the new Data Center?

Yes. CBS will not be available from 6:00pm ET on June 24, 2020 to the morning of June 29, 2020. Users will be notified when they can begin accessing CBS on June 29, 2020.

On June 25, 2020, NOAA Data Warehouse (NDW) and Discoverer will be available for running reports before the 3rd quarter close (exact times of availability will be announced at a later date)

External (feeder) systems will be up and available during the CBS downtime and users can still be working and staging documents. Please see below for information regarding a specific system:

Grants Online - will be available with limited functionality
E2 - will be available, but the authorizations will remain in the "obligation pending status" and the Local and TDY vouchers will remain in the Approved status, until the NOAA CBS cron jobs are turned back on
C.Request and CAWARD - will be available but financial functions (Commit/Cancel Commit, Submit, Obligate, and Financial Closeout) will NOT be available.

Will I be able to access the NOAA Data Warehouse during the CBS downtime?

Yes, for one additional day. On June 25, 2020, NOAA Data Warehouse (NDW) and Discoverer will be available for running any last minute reports before the 3rd quarter close (exact times of availability will be announced at a later date).

• All reports, report results and queries created and/or updated on June 25, 2020 will not be moved to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV.
• Please Note: Before June 24, 2020, users will need to run, download and save to your desktop any report output and Discoverer query output needed from NOAA Data Warehouse as they will not be saved and will not be moved to NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

Will systems external to CBS be available during the downtime?

Yes. External (feeder) systems will be up and available during the CBS downtime and users can still be working and staging documents. Please see below for information regarding a specific system:

Grants Online - will be available with limited functionality
E2 - will be available, but the authorizations will remain in the "obligation pending status" and the Local and TDY vouchers will remain in the Approved status, until the NOAA CBS cron jobs are turned back on
C.Request and CAWARD - will be available but financial functions (Commit/Cancel Commit, Submit, Obligate, and Financial Closeout) will NOT be available.

Any documents and transactions which have been staged and/or queued during this time will be processed on June 28, 2020 before users are allowed back into CBS.

Things to do BEFORE CBS moves to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

What should I do to prepare for this transition?

Submit CBS User Access Request Forms for any new CBS Users and/or changes to current CBS Users to Client Services (clientservices@noaa.gov) by June 9, 2020

From June 10, 2020 through June 29, 2020, all new user account or user account change requests will be frozen and will not be processed until after CBS moves to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

Reset your CBS password if it has already expired or if it is due to expire between June 9, 2020 and June 29, 2020

Instructions on how to reset your CBS password (if it has expired or if it is due to expire) can be found on the new CBS Tech Refresh Webpage under the Reference Information section
Anyone who changes their CBS password after June 9, 2020 will not be able to successfully perform a password reset via the 'Self Service Password Reset' option (Did you forget your password link?) when CBS moves to the new Data Center on June 29, 2020. If this occurs, the user should contact the Client Services Help Desk once the system is available on June 29th for assistance with the initial password reset

Set up Challenge Questions in CBS

In order to use the ‘Self Service Password Reset’ option once we move to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV, users must know or change their current Challenge Questions and Answers prior to June 9, 2020.
If you do not know the answers to your current Challenge Questions or have never setup Challenge Questions, instructions can be found on the new CBS Tech Refresh Webpage under the Reference Information section

Run, download and save to your desktop any report output and Discoverer query output needed from NOAA Data Warehouse prior to June 24, 2020 as they will not be saved and will not be moved to NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

On June 25, 2020, NOAA Data Warehouse will open up briefly to allow any last minute reports to be run and downloaded, however, no reports, report results or queries created or updated on this day will be moved to NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV

Work with your local desktop support to have a current Citrix ICA Receiver client remotely installed on your desktop prior to June 29, 2020. More information on this is included further below in this message.

I use a RSA Hard Token to access CBS, do I need to do anything?

If you currently use a RSA Hard Token to access CBS, you will need to create a new PIN for your RSA Hard Token prior to your initial log-in to CBS on June 29, 2020. You will receive further instructions from OCIO prior to go-live.

What should I do if I am a current CBS User and I need to change my role, access, password or challenge questions?

In preparation for the move to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV, we will need to temporarily freeze all changes to current CBS accounts from June 10, 2020 to June 29, 2020.

If a change to your current role or access is needed, submit a CBS User Access Request form to Client Services by June 9, 2020 in order to process the change before the CBS downtime.

What should I do if I want to be a new CBS User?

In preparation for the move to the NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV, Client Services will be unable to process any new user account requests from June 10, 2020 to June 29, 2020.

CBS User Access Request forms

CBS System Information

Will there be changes to the CBS application?

There will be no changes to the CBS functionality. The CBS application itself will not change as a result of this transition. Only the hardware it runs on, the location where it resides, and the URL to get to it are changing. In other words, once you're logged into CBS, it's exactly the same. This includes the CBS Portal, the Core Financial System (CFS) and the NOAA Data Warehouse

Will there be a new way to log-in to CBS?

Yes. Users will have a new way to log-in to CBS once the transition occurs to the new NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV.

Users will use a new URL link to access CBS, NOAA Data Warehouse (NDW) and Discoverer
Users will be required to use the XenApp application to log-in to CBS

Instructions will be provided prior to go-live.

Users will need to work with their local desktop support to have a current Citrix ICA Receiver client installed on their desktop prior to the move to NOAA Data Center in Fairmont, WV. It will be required to access CBS on June 29, 2020

NOAA OCIO has communicated this requirement to all desktop support groups across NOAA and has asked that this be completed by the end of May 2020, if possible.

JRE will no longer be required on individual desktops for use with CBS

Log-in Instructions and the new URL link for CBS will be provided prior to go-live.

When will I receive Log-in Instructions to access CBS?

Log-in Instructions and the new URL link for CBS will be provided prior to go-live

Will a current user need a new CBS User ID to access CBS?

Current CBS users will NOT need a new CBS User ID.

Will I need to change my password in order to access CBS after the move>?

On June 29, 2020, all CBS users will be required to change their password using the 'Self Service Password Reset' option (Did you forget your password link?) upon initial login to CBS.

Prior to June 9, 2020, please make sure you know the answers to your current challenge questions
Instructions on how to use the ‘Self Service Password Reset” option to change your password once we move to the NOAA Data Center will be provided prior to go-live.

For any questions, contact the NOAA Client Services Help Desk via email at clientservices@noaa.gov or via phone (301) 444-3400.