NCBI has scheduled the next round of HTTPS tests, following up from the initial tests performed on September 15.
The schedule for these tests is as follows (all times are EDT):
Thursday, Sept 22
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM : redirect web pages from HTTP to HTTPS, same as the first test on Sept 15.
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM : redirect CGI’s and API calls to HTTPS where possible, reject where not possible
Monday, Sept 26
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM : redirect web pages from HTTP to HTTPS with HSTS activated using a 1-hour expiration
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM : redirect web pages from HTTP to HTTPS without HSTS
Tuesday, Sept 27
8:00 AM : Start continually redirecting web pages from HTTP to HTTPS
If you use NCBI APIs, please see https://go.usa.gov/xKf8H
For more detailed information about these tests, please see https://go.usa.gov/xKH6Y
Important considerations:
- If you develop software that depends on NCBI APIs or toolkits (e.g. SRA or C++), please target the 8-9 AM window on Sept 22 for testing, as we expect any problems with HTTPS to result in failures of affected applications during this test.
- Some browsers may cache the HTTPS pages viewed during the test periods, and so may continue to request pages over HTTPS once the tests are complete. If this causes problems, clearing the browser’s cache and cookies will restore access over HTTP.
- We will be running additional tests on CGI applications once we analyze the results of the tests on September 22.