Prepare for a maintenance event

This page explains the required steps to prepare for a maintenance event that requires server downtime.

You must complete the following steps before the start of a scheduled maintenance event. Following these steps helps you minimize maintenance-related disruptions.

Warning: Failure to complete these preparatory steps before the maintenance event starts can result in the cancellation of the maintenance event.

• Disable the services and scripts that automatically start at power up.
• Safely migrate or stop applications and databases that are running on the server.
• Silence any monitoring and alerting associated with the server to avoid alerting on planned maintenance.
• Disable autostart and autojoin functionality of applications and clusters to avoid returning the server to operation until the maintenance event ends.
• Reboot the server 24-48 hours prior to the maintenance event start time. Reboot is required to confirm that the server is functioning well before the maintenance.
• Power off the server 1 hour before the maintenance event start time.

After you complete these steps, we don't require additional confirmation.

What's next

• View your maintenance events.