Availability Guide for Change Management

Availability Guide for Change Management–125506
6-1
6
Reducing the Time Required for
Planned Outages
Overview
Your NonStop system is designed so that most changes can be performed while the
system is still operational. However, certain changes must be done offline. Offline
change is any change that requires your NonStop system to be shut down.
Offline changes are usually performed during a planned outage. A planned outage is
system or application downtime that is planned or scheduled. This section describes
ways to help you reduce the time required for planned outages by:
•
Showing you how to minimize the frequency of planned outages
•
Describing techniques you can use to reduce system and application startup and
shutdown time
•
Explaining how you can reduce the time required to install a new version of the
operating system
Minimizing the Frequency of Planned Outages
You can minimize the frequency of planned outages by:
•
Anticipating and planning for change
•
Determining whether the change you want to make can be done online rather than
offline
Anticipating and Planning for Change
Anticipating and planning for change is a key requirement for maintaining 24-hour-a-
day, 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year operations. By taking the time to anticipate and plan
for changes, you can avoid taking your NonStop system down for unnecessary planned
outages.
The following are areas in which you can take action now in order to prevent planned
outages in the future:
•
Evaluating system performance and growth
•
Providing adequate computer room resources
•
Configuring your system with change in mind
Evaluating System Performance and Growth
Evaluating system performance and growth involves tracking and anticipating growth,
then establishing plans to accommodate that growth. Table 6-1 describes some common
performance-management tasks and how each task can help you plan for growth.