Handling System Downtimes

If staying online is your business, or a running an ecommerce business, then you should understand by now that a system downtime can be a costly thing to have. Of course we can’t possibly control all the downtimes that happened to us. The only thing we can do is to minimize the issue.

First we have to understand the types of downtimes that we can have. They are usually categorized into 3 distinct types:

Nothing much can be done with planned downtime. All you need is to set up a redundant server to make sure the website is running during the process. Even without redundant servers, you can maintain the server by allocating a downtime/ maintenance window that will cause the less disruption to your customers and users. Usually this is done at the early mornings; at dawn to be precise, where most users are asleep and the system is idling. While the system is down, a user friendly message should be displayed to warn users about the downtime.

Semi-planned downtimes are similar to planned, except that the time table for the downtime is not controlled by you, but by another party, usually the hosting provider. An example is vendor released security patches that require a reboot or a service restart. While immediate action is not required, it is in your best interest to install quickly so the associated vulnerability can be avoided. The impact of semi-planned downtime can be minimized if maintenance windows are used and user friendly message are displayed.

Unplanned downtime is the one that will cause a lot of problems, loss in revenue, reputations or all of them. While users understand system downtimes, they will not tolerate unplanned downtimes.

First thing you need to know that the site is down. Install a server monitoring service to notify you no that. Next is a friendly message telling users the site is down. This will tell users that you know about the problem and is working on the solution.

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.

Obviously, redundant systems that are monitored offer the best protection against downtime. Nevertheless, we can’t get what always wanted and IT budgets are tight nowadays, implementing redundant systems may not be possible or practical. Still, monitoring your systems, using maintenance windows, and greeting users with friendly messages can all assist in lessening the impact.