Sailor Network Maintenance Policy

As with all forms of computer equipment, the routers, radios, and servers used by the Sailor Network Operations Center require regular maintenance.

The Network Operations Center (NOC) performs operations that potentially impact services provided through the Sailor Network. In an attempt to minimize service interruptions, NOC works within announced maintenance timeframes/windows when possible. The purpose of this document is to clarify the policies and procedures governing maintenance work on the networks for which NOC is responsible and the communication of issues that occur on these networks.

Service Disruptions

A disruption consists of any event or condition that may negatively impact either performance or service to our customers. Disruptions are classified as one of the following types:

Transparent — Transparent maintenance should not impact network services.   

Degradation — Degradation is a reduction in network service to a device or area. Degradation can occur with respect to connectivity or other services that are provided on the network. The service or network is still functioning, but it is functioning in a diminished capacity.  

Outage — An outage is a loss in network service to a device or area. An outage can occur with respect to connectivity or other services that are provided on the network. The service or network is not functioning, and there is a total loss in connectivity. 

Disruptions can be caused by failure of a network device or server, power outages, failed cables, lost configurations, improper configuration, failure of a service, denial of service attacks, and a variety of other activities that can occur on a network. In all cases, a disruption will result in maintenance activity.

Maintenance

All work performed on the Sailor Network is conducted as a form of maintenance. This work may or may not result in a disruption of service, depending on the scope of the activity. Maintenance activities are divided into two categories: Scheduled or Emergency Maintenance.

Scheduled Maintenance is proactive work to address service enhancements or changes, architecture modifications, infrastructure upgrades, equipment replacement or reconfiguration, etc. Regularly scheduled maintenance occurs as follows for each type of disruption:

  • Transparent — May occur at any time 
  • Degradation — May occur at any time if no customer connections are affected and alternate network paths exist- In cases where customers are affected, NOC will follow the Outage related maintenance schedule below 
  • Outage — Weekdays between 7 am and 8:30 am- Evenings after 10 pm- All day Sunday- At any other time, when coordinated with affected customers Additionally, unattended router reboots, when necessary, will be scheduled between 2400 and 0500.

Emergency Maintenance is reactive or proactive work to address an existing service disruption or credible threat thereof. This includes responding to power failures, device failures, security vulnerabilities, etc. While these activities will be announced and consideration given to lead time, remediation of disruptions or mitigation of credible threats will receive precedence.

Communications

Customer notifications regarding maintenance activities will be generated as follows based on the type of maintenance:

Scheduled Maintenance

  • Transparent — No notifications will be generated 
  • Degraded — No notification will be generated if customer connections are not affected and alternate paths exist- If customer connections will be affected, notifications will be sent one week prior to the maintenance 
  • Outage — Notifications will be sent one week prior to the maintenance

Emergency Maintenance

NOC will make a best effort to notify customers in the case of emergency maintenance, but by the very nature of it being an emergency, notifications may not be possible.  During normal working hours, Sailor Help Desk personnel will attempt to notify affected customers.