A2C - OCR and AQA certificates expired, but connection still works?

[pete]

Would someone mind loading A2C and checking their certificate expiry dates? We're seeing this at one of our schools (AQA and OCR expired), but check connection comes back as ready and we can upload/download files.:

 

 

if we generate a new certificate via OCR and import it, the expiry date is also 25/06/22 (after restarting A2C just to be sure).

 

So I'm not sure if exam boards are no longer bothering with certs or if it'll stop working sometime between now and the results days.

[DrBeaker]

Interesting. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Will ask our team/staff tomorrow.

[MYK-IT]

This is the same with our A2C certificates too, noted a few months back when we renewed them for a fresh install. Still continues to work.

[DrCheese]

Aye I'll take a look at ours tomorrow - I notice we're supposed to upgrade to a newer a2c app, but they've not given a deadline

 

https://www.jcq.org.uk/a2c-news/update-the-jcq-a2c-migration-app-from-4-october-2021/

https://a2c.avcosystems.com/Help/FAQ

[DrBeaker]

Aye I'll take a look at ours tomorrow - I notice we're supposed to upgrade to a newer a2c app, but they've not given a deadline

 

https://www.jcq.org.uk/a2c-news/update-the-jcq-a2c-migration-app-from-4-october-2021/

https://a2c.avcosystems.com/Help/FAQ

 

I do recall doing our exams person's computer sometime in the past 6x months and finding this out the hard way. Think I updated it and it was fine.

[3s-gtech]

Great. Someone’s forgotten to look at the yearly to do list (or script it!)

 

Not going to stress about it too much as we’re locked to WJEC here in Wales for most things.

[pete]

One of our other schools is also seeing this. They'd launched A2C last week to check and all was fine (no expiry dates). This week (in response to an email from me) they've checked again and expiry dates have appeared.

 

Both sites do use a central config store* for A2C, but that's a supported configuration.

 

*to avoid having to manage certs and configs on multiple workstations.

 

edit: the other school's on the newer version of A2C.

Edited July 21, 2022 by pete

[jthompson]

Similar here. Noticed it the other week when assisting, but the stated expiry dates were so many months passed that I assumed it wasn't posing any functional problems.

[msi_school]

I made the Exams Office contact the boards and they neither where in any way concerned, so I got them to make a note and told SLT.

[pete]

So the AVCO FAQ (https://a2c.avcosystems.com/Help/FAQ) has this:

 

When access keys are generated they must have an expiry date. For A2C they are typically created to be valid for 10 years. If you are using the same key you were first issued in 2011/12 you are likely to start seeing them expire. They will continue to work despite the warning message, so replacing them is not urgent. When it is convenient request a new access key. When you install it the expiry message will disappear.

 

which is correct about the "keeps working" part. Not so much about the new key removing the expiry message.

Edited July 21, 2022 by pete

[DrCheese]

Yeah, ours has expiration dates of last year on, but we've received files fine since then & the connections all validate so um...

[DrBeaker]

FYI... Asked them to try, they couldn't be bothered.