Lenel Access Control (Card Swipe) Partial Outage

Update timeline

1. identified Aug 16, 2026, 08:54 PM UTC

   We have received reports that card readers around the UAF campus are currently experiencing issues. The OIT PAWS team is aware and is actively working to recover the server that controls this system. We will be making updates at one-hour intervals as they work towards a fix. Building coordinators may be aware of alternative access methods and routes for particular rooms, but there is no widespread workaround at this time. Thank you for your patience during the resolution of this issue!

2. identified Aug 16, 2026, 10:01 PM UTC

   We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue.

3. identified Aug 16, 2026, 10:59 PM UTC

   We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue.

4. resolved Aug 16, 2026, 11:56 PM UTC

   OIT PAWS reports that the server for Lenel card swipe systems has been restarted successfully and is operational.

5. postmortem Aug 19, 2026, 09:25 PM UTC

   # **Root Cause Analysis – Argus Server Incident** ## **Executive Summary** The Argus server experienced a rapid loss of available space on the Windows C: drive. During investigation, PAWS identified significant disk activity occurring within the Lenel application log directory. Available disk space continued to decrease and eventually reached approximately 37 MB. PAWS cleanly shut down the server to prevent the operating system from reaching 0 available disk space and potentially causing additional system issues. PAWS expanded the C: drive and successfully returned the server to service. Following recovery, disk utilization stabilized and approximately 20 GB of free space remained available. PAWS is responsible for the underlying Windows server infrastructure but does not administer or support the Lenel application. The cause of the increased application-generated disk activity has not been determined and requires investigation by the application owner/vendor. ‌ ‌ ## **Incident Impact** The Argus server became unavailable during the incident and infrastructure recovery activities, resulting in an interruption to services dependent on the server. Reported impacts included on-campus door card reader functionality. ‌ ‌ ## **Timeline** **All times are Alaska Time.** **Approximately 11:04 AM** – PAWS was notified of an issue involving the Argus server and reported impacts to on-campus door card readers. The associated incident was TDX 991008. **Approximately 11:23 AM** – PAWS identified rapidly decreasing available space on the Windows C: drive. Resource Monitor showed significant write activity occurring within: `C:\ProgramData\Ln\logs` PAWS attempted to recover available disk capacity; however, C: utilization continued to increase. The C: drive eventually reached approximately **37 MB of available space**. PAWS cleanly shut down the VM to prevent the Windows system drive from reaching 0 available space and potentially causing additional operating system issues. PAWS performed the infrastructure work necessary to increase the capacity of the system drive. **Approximately 3:34 PM** – Infrastructure work was completed and the C: drive was expanded. The server was brought back online and PAWS verified normal server and disk operation. **Approximately 3:49 PM** – The server was reported operational. The following day, C: remained stable at approximately **19.9 GB free**, with no recurrence of the rapid disk consumption. ‌ ‌ ## **Root Cause** The immediate cause of the server outage was exhaustion of available capacity on the Windows C: drive. During the incident, PAWS observed significant disk write activity within the Lenel application log directory: `C:\ProgramData\Ln\logs` This activity rapidly consumed the remaining available capacity on the system drive. The underlying reason for the increased application-generated disk activity has **not been determined**. PAWS is responsible for administration of the underlying server infrastructure but does not administer, configure, or support the Lenel application. Determining why the application generated the increased disk activity requires investigation by the application owner/vendor and is outside the scope of this infrastructure RCA. ‌ ‌ ## **Contributing Factor** ### **Limited Available System Disk Capacity** The server did not have sufficient remaining C: drive capacity to absorb the unexpected increase in application-generated disk utilization. Available capacity eventually decreased to approximately **37 MB**, requiring PAWS to shut down the server to prevent Windows from reaching 0 available disk space. ‌ ‌ ## **Resolution** PAWS completed the following infrastructure recovery actions: * Investigated the rapidly decreasing C: drive capacity. * Identified the source directory associated with the increased disk activity. * Cleanly shut down the server before the system drive reached 0 available space. * Increased the capacity available to the Windows C: drive. * Returned the server to service. * Verified normal server and disk operation. * Continued monitoring disk utilization following recovery. Following recovery, the C: drive remained stable at approximately **19.9 GB free**. ‌ ‌ ## **Corrective and Preventative Actions** ### **Disk Capacity Monitoring** PAWS will review disk capacity monitoring and alert thresholds for the Argus server to provide sufficient notification when system drive capacity approaches critical levels. ### **Server Capacity** PAWS will continue monitoring C: drive utilization to verify that the additional capacity provides sufficient operating headroom under normal server conditions. ### **Application Investigation** The application owner/vendor will need to determine the cause of the unexpected increase in Lenel-generated disk activity and identify any application-level corrective actions that may be required. Application configuration, logging, retention, and application-level remediation are outside the scope of PAWS server administration. ‌ ‌ ## **Current Status** The Argus server is online and operational. The C: drive remained stable at approximately **19.9 GB free** during follow-up monitoring, with no recurrence of the rapid disk consumption observed during the incident. PAWS considers the **server infrastructure portion of the incident resolved**. The underlying cause of the Lenel application behavior remains undetermined and requires follow-up by the application owner/vendor.