Server “downtime” is the term that is used to describe a period of time
in which a server or website is unavailable. Server downtime and outages
occur when a system is unable to perform its primary functions.
Downtime can be the result of a planned event, such as a system upgrade
or routine maintenance. It may also be the result of unexpected issues
such as server overloads or system crashes.
Planned Downtime versus Unplanned Downtime:
Server downtime is unavoidable in certain situations. Planned downtime,
such as the downtime that is associated with server maintenance and
upgrades, can be planned for properly and notice can be given to your
customers. When such downtime is scheduled, it is scheduled in advance.
This allows you to give your customers notice regarding the downtime so
they are made aware of the fact that your website will be unavailable
during a set period of time. Notifying your customers of planned
downtime in advance results in less frustration and does not impact the
reputation of your company.
Unplanned downtime, on the other hand, can be a frustrating experience
for customers and potential customers. Your website visitors may be
unable to make or purchase or access features of your website that they
need. If you want to maximize your profits and reduce customer
frustration, you need to make sure that unplanned downtime is minimized
and that you are monitoring the level of server downtime that your
website is experiencing.
What Causes Unplanned Downtime?
As explained above, unplanned server downtime can be caused by a number
of factors. Improper system configuration, hardware failure or other
system failures can result in unplanned server downtime. Server
overloads and bandwidth issues are other problems that can result in
unplanned server downtime. Catastrophic failure at the data center where
your server resides can also result in serious downtime issues.
How Much Downtime Should You Expect?
The amount of downtime you should expect will depend on how often you
perform server updates and maintenance as well as the quality of your
service provider. You can take measures to minimize planned downtime,
such as the implementation of server clustering. Server clustering
provides you with continuous messaging availability through the services
of a standby server in the exchange cluster while you perform
maintenance on the primary node. Unplanned downtime, however, is not so
easy to manage. That is why it is crucial that you keep an eye on server
outages and slowdowns and monitor your server’s performance. If you
have anything less than 99.9 percent uptime, there is a problem and you
either need to upgrade your server or change to another service
provider.
How to Monitor Your Server Downtime:
You can’t fix a problem if you do not know that a problem exists. It is
nearly impossible (and is definitely not cost effective) to have an
employee monitoring your website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The best
way to ensure that you are on top of any server downtime issues that
may arise is to utilize the services of a website monitoring company. A
website monitoring service can keep an eye on your websites, servers and
routers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will alert you when your site
is experiencing outages or slowdowns. If you notice that you have more
downtime than you should be experiencing, you can take measures to
correct the issue.
