These steps reduce the chance that people will try to use the systems during
the maintenance window, which could cause inconsistencies in, damage
to, or accidental loss of their work. It also reduces the chance that the person
carrying the on-call pager will have to respond to urgent helpdesk voicemails
saying that the network is down.
Before the maintenance window opens, we recommend that you test
console servers and other tools that will be used during the maintenance window.
Some of these facilities are used infrequently enough that they may be
nonfunctional without anyone noticing. Make sure to give yourself enough
time to fix anything that is nonfunctional before the maintenance is due to
start.