Once we had run a few maintenance windows, we discovered a formula that worked
well for us. The systems on which most people were dependent for their work were
operated on Friday evening. The first thing to be upgraded or changed was the network.
Next on the list was console service, then the authentication servers. While these
were in progress, all the other SAs helped out with hardware tasks, such as memory,
disk, or CPU upgrades; replacing broken hardware; or moving equipment within or
between data centers. Last thing on Friday night, large data moves were started so
that they could run overnight.
The remaining tasks were then scheduled into Saturday, with some people being
scheduled to help others in between their own tasks. Sunday was reserved for comprehensive
systemwide testing and debugging, because of the high importance placed
on testing.