[c-nsp] OT: Enterprise (Not ISP) Maintenance Windows

[Joe Provo]

[yeah, OT and should be on NANOG or similar, but this will more likely 
get you real answers, sadly.]

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 02:42:56PM -0700, Scott Voll wrote:
> For those of you working in an enterprise, company, agency, etc.  Do you
> have a standard (network) maintenance windows?
> 
> If so, when?  How often?  Can you schedule anything in it, or if it will
> cause an outage does it need to go through 3+ layers of meetings and buy
> off to get it approved before you can schedule it?
> 
> I'm just trying to understand what the norm is, "in the real world".
 
The norm is what works for your business, period. "ISP maintenance
windows" are the same: hint, if they aren't doing it in their usage
trough, someone has elevatated process/tradition over sanity.  

I've wotked with emnterprises that have ranged from ad-hoc, scheduled 
based on weekly meetings, rigid twice weekly, etc.  In general, work 
will pile up so I lean to no less than once a week.  More important 
bits IMO are:
- don't paint yourself into the corner that eliminates automated 
  processes. 
- be clear about what can/can't be done in your windows; do you 
  need 'non-disruptive' versus 'disruptive' windows to cover code 
  upgrades?
- have clear actions/test/rollback 
- where not automatically generated, use a peer review process

Cheers,

Joe

-- 
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