Isp : System Downtime

disruption, loss of revenue and customer confidence. While most customers understand that some degree of downtime may be required, few understand when systems simply do not respond or displays a cryptic error messages. Fortunately, several steps can be taken to lessen the impact of unplanned downtime. The first step is to knowing the system is down. Without some sort of automated monitoring in place, notification of a downed system is all too often reported by a coworker or even worse, a customer. A web search will reveal a wide range of companies offering monitoring services to meet just about any budget and business need.

Next, get a user friendly message displayed if a web site, or in the case of a file/print server notify your users of the outage. While redundant systems offer the best protection, a lot of low cost options exist. Older machines can be built, hosted, and setup to display a friendly web site down message. A quick change to a DNS entry, and the machine could be live. Telephone systems, email, intercom systems, or a nicely printed message displayed on office doors or by the elevators can all be used to alert internal users. Remember the goal is to greet people with a friendly message that lets them know you are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it.

The final step is to resolve the unplanned issue. I am always surprised at the wide range of attitudes IT staff display concerning outages. Some people are in no rush regardless of the severity, while others will move heaven and earth. It is important to set IT staff expectations. I convey that the only thing that takes priority over a virus or system outage is loss of life. Simply put, if you are giving mouth-to-mouth or pulling someone out of a burning building, you are excused. Otherwise, stop whatever you are doing and get the issue resolved. This may sound drastic, but it clearly sets staff expectations to quickly resolve outages.

Clearly, redundant systems that are monitored offer the best protection against downtime. With shrinking IT budgets over the past several years, implementing redundant systems may not be possible or practical. However, monitoring your systems, determining maintenance windows, greeting users with friendly messages, and timely IT staff reaction can all assist in lessening the impact. Lew Newlin is CTO of SiteRecon, a provider of internet email monitoring and web site monitoring services for business.
Written By: Lew Newlin