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Replacement servers for state unemployment insurance databases
Summary ETA notified state workforce agencies that it would replace their aging Sun servers with HP Proliant DL20 systems for unemployment program reporting. It described the equipment, data migration and a projected schedule ending in January 2021, and rescinded UIPL 6-15, Change 1. The PDF expired February 1, 2021, although ETA’s listing still says Active.
Document
Federal guidance
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Document number
UIPL No. 3-21
Date issued
October 29, 2020
Status
Unknown
ETA’s listing marks this letter Active, but its PDF prints an expiration date of February 1, 2021. It rescinds UIPL 6-15, Change 1. The sources do not reconcile the past expiration date with the listing label.
Status last verified October 24, 2026
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About this page: The full text below is the official document from U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.
CLASSIFICATION
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION Unemployment Insurance
ADVISORY SYSTEM CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OUI/DPM
DATE
Washington, D.C. 20210
October 29, 2020
ADVISORY: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 3-21
TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
FROM: JOHN PALLASCH
Assistant Secretary
SUBJECT: Replacement of Information Technology Hardware supporting the
State Unemployment Insurance Data Base Management System
(UIDBMS)
1. Purpose. To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) with advance notice of the
upcoming distribution of new Hewlett Packard (HP) Proliant DL20 computer systems.
2. Action Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (Department) Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) requests that State Workforce Administrators provide the information in
this Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) and the attachments to the appropriate
program and information technology staff who will assist with the migration from the current
Sun Server X4-2 to the new HP Proliant DL20 computer systems.
3. Summary and Background.
a. Summary. The Department has purchased, configured, and will ship to each SWA (see
schedule below in Section 4) the HP Proliant DL20 that stores important Unemployment
Insurance (UI) program workload, financial, and performance data extracted from state
UI Benefits and Tax systems and through which states electronically transmit data they
are required to report to the Department. The current Sun Server X4-2 server is no
longer produced or supported, and therefore the Department will be providing each state
with this new and upgraded server (computer system) over the next three months.
b. Background. Over the last 30 years, the Department has replaced the states’ Sun
Systems on an intermittent basis when the servers reached their end of useful life and
were no longer manufactured and supported by the vendor. In 2016, the Department
provided the states with the current Sun Systems. As with past replacements, these
systems have reached the end of useful life and are no longer being produced and/or
maintained by the vendor.
RESCISSIONS EXPIRATION DATE
UIPL 6-15, Change 1 February 1, 2021
4. Upgrade Overview.
a. Hardware. The Department selected the HP Proliant DL20 system as the replacement
server for SWAs. This new system has larger disk drives and faster central processing units
(CPUs) and allows for future expansion. The new system is designed and configured to
support current web-based applications. Each state will receive the following hardware and
equipment:
System / Equipment
HP Proliant DL20 System / cables
b. Software. The Department’s technical support staff in the Office of the Chief
Information Officer will work closely with State System Administrators (previously
referred to as State Sun System Administrators) to transfer all software and data from the
current servers to the new servers. The transition should be transparent for the current
users and system administrators, and thus no additional training is anticipated.
c. State Migration Schedule. In October 2020, the Department’s technical support staff will
contact each State System Administrator to coordinate the migration timeline schedule. The
tentative timeline schedule for each state migration is displayed in the table below. The
schedule may shift due to unforeseen issues with the installation of the computer system
with the states’ migration. If the schedule is changed, the Department will notify the State
System Administrator. The Department’s technical staff will also be in contact with each
State System Administrator to provide additional information on the implementation
process. The projected completion date for this project is January 2021.
Below is the tentative migration schedule. This schedule is contingent on the availability of
the State System Administrator.
Phase 1 – States
Migration Timeframe – October 15 – 30, 2020
State State State State
*TC GA DC SC
CA MD VA
Phase II – States
Migration Timeframe – November 01 – 15, 2020
AK VI OR NE
PR WA ID
Phase III – States
Migration Timeframe – November 15 – 30, 2020
WI MT FL MS
HI AZ ME AR
Phase IV – States
Migration Timeframe – December 1 – 15, 2020
ND WY TX VT
WV NV NC LA
Phase V – States
2
Migration Timeframe – December 15 – 31, 2020
KS SD CO MN
AL NH NM OK
Phase VI – States
Migration Timeframe – January 1 - 15, 2021
IA UT TN KY
MO NY NJ IN
Phase VII – States
Migration Timeframe – January 15 - 31, 2021
IL MA DE OH
CT PA MI MA
*Training Center
Each State System Administrator or other designated staff will receive a pre-filled transfer form
(which is currently under development) to accept possession of the new HP Proliant DL20
computer system. The completed transfer form must be signed by the State System
Administrator and dated, and the State System Administrator should return it via email to the
email address on the form. Also, if any changes are made (i.e., server location moved or the
point of contact has changed), the State System Administrator will need to update the transfer
form. The State System Administrator should also sign, date, and return any updated transfer
forms.
d. Disposal of X4-2 (Current State Sun Systems).
i. Two (2) weeks after the upgrade to the new system is complete, the Department’s
technical support staff will remotely access all legacy state X4-2 servers to remove
the state user accounts and home directories, the UI Database (UIDB) Informix
database software and data, and the application software. This “soft” removal of any
personally identifiable information (PII) information is an incremental step prior to
the “WipeDisk” process discussed below.
ii. Two (2) weeks after the upgrade to the new system is complete, the Department will
mail to each SWA a Compact Disc (CD)/Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), which will
include bootable self-initiating custom software. This software (State-WipeDisk- X4-
2) will execute a data destruction “WipeDisk” process on the old X4-2 server
cleansing the entire disk(s) 12 times.
iii. The Department’s technical support staff will contact the individual State System
Administrator to schedule the “WipeDisk” process on the old X4-2 server and will
provide technical assistance to the state Sun System Administrator to complete the
process.
iv. Once the “WipeDisk” process is complete, the State System Administrator should
notify the Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) Hotline (1-800-473- 0188)
that the “WipeDisk” process is complete. The OUI Hotline will annotate on an
Electronic Media Disposal Sanitation Certificate (DL1-55A form) that the system
has been cleansed.
3
Once the system is cleansed, each SWA will package the old X4-2 server for shipment to
the Department’s National Office. Unlike in past upgrades, the Department is not
providing the SWA the option of retaining the old server for the SWA’s use. The SWA
must ship the X4-2 server to the Department for disposal. The SWA will send the X4-2
to:
U.S. Department of Labor
Attention: Operations / Tim Carroll
200 Constitution Ave. N.W., S-4021
Washington, D.C. 20210
5. Inquiries. Please direct questions to the appropriate ETA Regional Office.
6. Reference.
Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 06-15, Change 1 Update to the
Upgrade Plan for Replacement of State-based Information Technology Hardware
for the Unemployment Insurance Data Base System.
https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL_6-15-Change1.pdf
7. Attachments.
Attachment I: System Configuration
Attachment II: Upgrade Plan
Attachment III: Operational and Maintenance Responsibilities for the Unemployment
Insurance Database Management System – State UIDBMS
4
Attachment I to UIPL No. 3-21
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
Hewlett Packard (HP)
Proliant DL20 Server
Configuration
Hardware
HP Proliant DL20 Server
o 4-core 3.5 GHz Intel Xenon Processor
o 16GB DDR3-1600 memory
o 4 1TB Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) 2.5-inch hard disk drives
o 2 500w Power Supply kits
o Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Integrated Lights-Out Manager
RedHat Linux 7 and Java JBOSS Enterprise Application Platform software
RedHat Linux 7 Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive
The HP Proliant DL20 integrates with all diverse clients on the network such as Apple, Microsoft
Windows 7/8/2000/10/NT/XP, UNIX and LINUX workstations providing Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) connectivity over Ethernet Local Access Networks (LANs)
through Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure Shell (SSH).
Software
RedHat Linux7 Operating System
Unemployment Insurance Database Management System (UIDBMS) State Workforce
Agency Software Suite
I-1
Attachment II to UIPL No. 3-21
UPGRADE PLAN
Initially, the Department of Labor (Department’s) National Office operations staff will install all
software and middleware on new Hewlett Packard (HP) Proliant DL20 servers. After which, the
system will be shipped to each State Workforce Agency (SWA) based upon the schedule outlined
in Section 4 of this Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL).
The Department’s technical staff will contact the State System
Administrator to discuss the hardware upgrade as outlined in Section 4 of
this UIPL.
Based on the schedule, the Department’s technical staff will provide the State System
Administrator with the necessary assistance required to install the new system. Once
the new system is set up and adequately tested in the state, all existing data/information
on the old system including the external drive will be deleted to ensure privacy of state
data as outlined in Section 4 of this UIPL.
The Department will keep all State System Administrators informed regarding any updates to
the implementation process. The projected completion date for this project is January 2021.
More detailed information will follow concerning the installation plans and this effort will be
coordinated in detail with the State System Administrators.
Special Technical Notes:
The new HP Proliant DL20 systems will be patched over the internet and will require an
internet connection to access Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)’s patch repository.
II-1
Attachment III to UIPL No. 3-21
Operational and Maintenance Responsibilities for the State Unemployment Insurance
Database Management System (UIDBMS)
Purpose - To inform State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) about responsibilities related to the State
UIDBMS
Background – The State UIDBMS hardware and operating system are provided, patched, and
maintained by the United States Department of Labor (Department). UIDBMS applications
residing on this hardware are also maintained and updated by the Department. On a daily basis, the
Department retrieves files from states’ UIDBMS servers that are then uploaded to the National
Office UIDBMS. Within these file transactions, the Department does not store any Personally
Identifiable Information (PII) that are stored in the State UIDBMS.
State UIDBMS – HP ProLiant DL20 running RedHat Linux 7 with a Jboss Enterprise Application
Platform application server and Informix database
Maintenance Schedule
Who is Responsible – The Department’s Unix administrator
Why – To maintain current Operating System (OS) patch levels and install any needed
security patches
When – Quarterly
Back-up Schedule
When – Nightly, Monthly and Yearly
Who is Responsible – State System Administrators are required to rotate a Universal Serial
Bus (USB) drive nightly, and manually execute a monthly and yearly backup
Technical Support Helpdesk Contact Information
1-800-473-0188
[email protected]
III-1
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