WSU Information Technology Services will perform maintenance on its firewall between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, which will result in a short internet outage on campus sometime during the day.

ITS Communications Manager Jacqueline Southwick said the firewall is a security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic. The firewall decides what can safely pass into the WSU information realm.

She said it is imperative that there is regular maintenance on the system to keep the technology up to date. This ensures the firewall is able to do its job to the best of its ability. 

It is typical for WSU applications to require constant updates. This is just a regular, periodical maintenance, Southwick said. 

She said six hours have been reserved for the maintenance. It is very likely that the maintenance will not last the full length of time and the internet will only be impacted for about 15 minutes at some point during that six-hour window.

People on campus should not try to log on to the internet as they might not have connectivity during that time, Southwick said.