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Bring down servers over weekend

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9 replies

by dmelb

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I need some help in determining what servers I can bring down and leave turned off over a weekend (the air conditioning in my building will be shut off due to repairs). I have a small spot cooler in the server room, but would still like to shut down any servers that I can as a precaution.

Here is the setup of the servers:

One W2K domain: (All servers except # 4 run Win 2000)
Server 1: Domain Controller only , no applications. (DHCP, Primary WINS, DNS)

Server 2: Exchange server. Domain controller. All FSMO roles are all on this server

Server 3: File Print server. Domain controller. (Secondary WINS, DNS)

Server 4: Member server. NT server

Server 5: Workgroup only, not part of domain

I would like to bring down the member and workgroup servers and possibly the
File/Print server (#3). Is there any problem with bringing down the File/Print server (a domain controller) for several days without removing it from the domain?

Thanks for any help

9 replies

by deepsand

That you are considering downing #3 thru #5 implies that there will be no user access required.

If that is the case, why not down them all?

by zlitocook

Windows servers you should reboot them a least once a mounth. Win servers slow to a point that you have to reboot them. I wait to a slow point and tell the users the network will be down for awhile.

by tomw

Not in my experience, unless you're running an unpatched version of NT 4.0. You could have badly coded applications I suppose that hose up memory but we have w2k serves running SQL 2k that have been up 90 days and are performing flawlessly.

by mlkiely

Your situation is basic what you need to consider shifting the load to an outside provider if it is mission critical. If not take down everything other than the web portal to the customer side as you don't want to give the impression you are out of business.PS; send an internal memo prior to implimentation to let your staff know the server pool is undergoing service and they should find alternative means to communicate concerns say use the phone and print out a contact directory.

by donaldcoe

The way it sounds, that not much work is being done on the weekend that is why scheduled repairs were set for the weekend period. In today's climate most to all servers are running full tilt 24/7 and not use to being rebooted or being shut off. So I STRONGLY SUGGEST A FULL SYSTEMS BACKUP ON ALL YOUR SERVERS IN 1 or 2 days prior to the weekend of the scheduled repairs.
Leave power applied and printers turned on during this period, so when you attempt to restart there won't be a need for system hardware searches. So all means take them all down and TELL YOUR USERS TO TAKE A HOLIDAY.

by jdclyde

Sorry, had to throw that in their.

The one thing we need to know is what services will the users need over the weekend?

If they aren't working, then you should be able to just take the whole room off-line.

by jchavis

My suggestion is to just keep the exchange server up and running. Unless you can arrange for the MX record to point somewhere else, you will need Exchange to stay up, or your mail will get bounced back.

by dmelb

Yeah thanks, I finally decided to keep just the Exchange server up for that reason.

by dmelb

With the exception of the Exchange server (we tend to receive a lot of email over the weekend), it sounds like I have some flexibility as far as deciding which servers to bring down (all if necessary). Staff will work around any network services that are unavailable over a weekend. My goal is to leave as many services available as possible but bring down whatever I need to keep the room cool enough over the weekend.

Thanks

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