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IT Maintenance Policy

Policy Status: Draft

This policy is currently draft.

Purpose

To ensure that all IT systems, infrastructure, and equipment are kept up-to-date, functional, secure, and performant through regular, proactive maintenance activities, minimizing unplanned downtime and extending asset lifecycle while maintaining security and compliance.

Scope

This policy applies to all IT systems, infrastructure, and equipment managed by Acme Corp, including: - Hardware infrastructure (servers, storage, network equipment) - Software systems (operating systems, applications, databases) - Network infrastructure (routers, switches, firewalls, wireless) - End-user devices (computers, laptops, mobile devices) - Cloud infrastructure and services - Security systems and tools - Backup and disaster recovery systems - Monitoring and management tools

Policy Statement

Proactive Maintenance Approach

Acme Corp follows a proactive maintenance strategy:

  • Preventive Maintenance: Regular scheduled maintenance to prevent failures
  • Predictive Maintenance: Monitor system health to anticipate and prevent issues
  • Corrective Maintenance: Rapid response to fix identified problems
  • Adaptive Maintenance: Update systems to adapt to changing requirements
  • Documentation: Comprehensive logging of all maintenance activities

Scheduled Maintenance Windows

Regular maintenance windows established to minimize business disruption:

  • Standard Maintenance Windows:
  • Primary: Every Sunday 2:00 AM - 6:00 AM EST
  • Secondary: Every Wednesday 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM EST (for urgent non-critical updates)
  • Extended Maintenance: Last Sunday of month 12:00 AM - 8:00 AM EST (for major updates)
  • Emergency Maintenance: As needed for critical security or system issues
  • Notification Requirements:
  • Standard maintenance: 48 hours advance notice
  • Extended maintenance: 1 week advance notice
  • Emergency maintenance: As soon as possible, minimum 2 hours when feasible

Patch Management

Security patches and software updates applied systematically:

Patch Classification and Timelines: - Critical Security Patches: Applied within 7 days of release - High Priority Patches: Applied within 30 days of release - Medium Priority Patches: Applied within 60 days or next maintenance window - Low Priority Patches: Evaluated for inclusion in quarterly updates

Patch Process: - Monitor vendor security bulletins and advisories - Assess patch criticality and applicability - Test patches in non-production environment - Deploy during scheduled maintenance windows - Validate successful deployment - Document all patches applied

Hardware Maintenance

Physical equipment maintained according to manufacturer recommendations:

  • Server Equipment: Quarterly inspections, annual deep maintenance
  • Network Equipment: Monthly inspections, semi-annual firmware updates
  • Storage Systems: Monthly health checks, quarterly optimization
  • End-User Devices: Annual preventive maintenance, as-needed repairs
  • Environmental Systems: Monthly testing of cooling, power, environmental controls
  • Physical Security: Monthly inspection of locks, access controls, surveillance

Software Maintenance

Applications and systems kept current and optimized:

  • Operating System Updates: Monthly security updates, quarterly feature updates
  • Application Updates: Deploy updates within 60 days of stable release
  • Database Maintenance: Weekly optimization, monthly integrity checks
  • Antivirus/Security Tools: Daily signature updates, weekly software updates
  • Monitoring Tools: Monthly updates to ensure latest capabilities
  • Version Currency: Keep systems within 2 major versions of current release

Maintenance Documentation

All maintenance activities thoroughly documented:

  • Maintenance Logs: Record all maintenance performed in centralized system
  • Configuration Changes: Document all configuration modifications
  • Issue Tracking: Link maintenance to related incidents or problems
  • Runbooks: Maintain current step-by-step maintenance procedures
  • Knowledge Base: Document lessons learned and troubleshooting tips
  • Historical Records: Retain maintenance history per asset retention policy

Communication and Coordination

Maintenance activities coordinated with stakeholders:

  • Maintenance Calendar: Publish monthly calendar of planned maintenance
  • Advance Notifications: Email and Slack notifications before maintenance
  • Status Page Updates: Update public status page during maintenance
  • Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate with departments for high-impact maintenance
  • Change Management: Submit change requests for maintenance requiring changes
  • Post-Maintenance Reports: Communicate results and any impacts

Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibility
Chief Technology Officer Approve maintenance policies, oversee major maintenance activities
IT Operations Manager Schedule and coordinate maintenance activities, approve maintenance plans
System Administrators Execute maintenance tasks, document activities, resolve issues
Network Team Maintain network infrastructure, manage firmware updates
Database Administrators Perform database maintenance, optimization, and updates
Security Team Prioritize security patches, validate security controls after maintenance
Help Desk Communicate maintenance schedules, support users during maintenance
All Staff Plan around maintenance windows, report issues promptly

Procedures

1. Planning Scheduled Maintenance

1.1 Identify Maintenance Needs

  1. Review system performance metrics
  2. Check vendor maintenance requirements
  3. Review security patch requirements
  4. Assess hardware health reports
  5. Collect maintenance requests from teams
  6. Prioritize maintenance activities

1.2 Create Maintenance Plan

  1. Document specific maintenance tasks
  2. Estimate duration for each task
  3. Identify required resources and personnel
  4. Plan for contingencies and rollback
  5. Document pre-maintenance and post-maintenance checks
  6. Create detailed step-by-step procedures

1.3 Schedule Maintenance

  1. Identify appropriate maintenance window
  2. Consider business calendar and peak usage
  3. Coordinate with stakeholders
  4. Reserve maintenance window in calendar
  5. Allow minimum 72 hours lead time for communication

1.4 Obtain Approvals

  1. Submit maintenance request for review
  2. IT Operations Manager approval for standard maintenance
  3. CTO approval for critical system maintenance
  4. Stakeholder sign-off for user-impacting changes

1.5 Prepare Communication

  1. Draft maintenance notification with all details
  2. Send 72-hour advance notice minimum
  3. Send 24-hour reminder
  4. Confirm maintenance team availability
  5. Review maintenance procedures
  6. Verify backup systems operational
  7. Create pre-maintenance system snapshots/backups
  8. Post initial status update

2. Executing Scheduled Maintenance

2.1 Maintenance Window Start

  1. Send maintenance start notification
  2. Update status page to "maintenance in progress"
  3. Take systems offline as planned
  4. Document actual start time

2.2 Execute Maintenance

  1. Follow documented maintenance procedures step-by-step
  2. Document each action taken
  3. Monitor for unexpected issues
  4. Take screenshots/logs as evidence
  5. Communicate progress for extended maintenance

2.3 Validation and Testing

  1. Verify all maintenance tasks completed successfully
  2. Test system functionality
  3. Check system logs for errors
  4. Validate performance metrics
  5. Confirm security controls operational

2.4 System Restoration

  1. Bring systems back online in planned order
  2. Monitor system stability
  3. Verify user access restored
  4. Check integrations and dependencies

2.5 Post-Maintenance

  1. Send maintenance completion notification
  2. Update status page to "operational"
  3. Document completion time and results
  4. Monitor systems closely for 24 hours
  5. Close change request with results

3. Emergency Maintenance Procedures

For critical issues requiring immediate maintenance:

3.1 Emergency Declaration

  1. IT Operations Manager or CTO declares emergency
  2. Assess severity and impact
  3. Determine immediate action required

3.2 Expedited Notification

  1. Immediate notification to affected users (minimum 2 hours when possible)
  2. Post emergency maintenance notice to status page
  3. Alert Slack channels (#general, #ops-alerts)

3.3 Execute Emergency Maintenance

  1. Assemble emergency maintenance team
  2. Document emergency justification
  3. Execute necessary maintenance
  4. Monitor critical systems closely
  5. Maintain detailed activity log

3.4 Post-Emergency Review

  1. Complete full documentation within 24 hours
  2. Submit change request for emergency change
  3. Conduct post-incident review
  4. Identify preventive measures
  5. Update procedures if needed

4. Patch Management Process

4.1 Monitor for Patches

  1. Subscribe to vendor security bulletins
  2. Monitor security advisories (CISA, CVE databases)
  3. Review available patches weekly
  4. Configure automated patch alerts

4.2 Assess and Prioritize

  1. Review patch descriptions and affected systems
  2. Assess criticality based on:
  3. Security impact (CVSS score)
  4. System criticality
  5. Known exploits
  6. Prioritize: Critical (7 days), High (30 days), Medium (90 days), Low (next maintenance window)

4.3 Test Patches

  1. Test in non-production environment first
  2. Verify compatibility with applications
  3. Test for performance impact
  4. Document test results

4.4 Schedule Deployment

  1. Schedule patching during maintenance windows
  2. Group patches by system/application
  3. Plan phased rollout for critical systems

4.5 Deploy Patches

  1. Create system backups before patching
  2. Apply patches per schedule
  3. Monitor for errors during deployment
  4. Document all patches applied

4.6 Verify and Document

  1. Verify patches applied successfully
  2. Test affected systems
  3. Update patch management records
  4. Report completion

5. Hardware Maintenance Procedures

5.1 Quarterly Server Maintenance

  1. Clean dust from server components
  2. Check fan operation and cooling
  3. Verify indicator lights
  4. Check disk space and health indicators
  5. Review system logs
  6. Test backup power systems

5.2 Network Equipment Maintenance

  1. Verify network equipment cooling
  2. Check port status and utilization
  3. Update firmware if needed
  4. Test redundancy and failover
  5. Clean fiber optic connections

5.3 Storage System Maintenance

  1. Check disk health indicators
  2. Verify RAID status
  3. Test restore procedures
  4. Review capacity trends
  5. Update storage firmware

6. Database Maintenance Procedures

6.1 Database Optimization

  1. Rebuild indexes
  2. Update statistics
  3. Reorganize fragmented tables
  4. Archive old data

6.2 Integrity Checks

  1. Run database consistency checks
  2. Verify foreign key relationships
  3. Check for corruption

6.3 Performance Monitoring

  1. Review slow query logs
  2. Analyze query execution plans
  3. Identify optimization opportunities

6.4 Backup Verification

  1. Test database restores
  2. Verify backup completeness
  3. Check backup retention compliance

Exceptions

Exceptions to maintenance schedules may be approved for:

  • Business-Critical Periods: Delay maintenance during critical business activities
  • Vendor Recommendations: Follow vendor-specific maintenance guidance
  • Compatibility Issues: Defer updates with known compatibility problems
  • Regulatory Testing: Extended timelines for systems requiring regulatory validation

Exception process: - Document exception request with justification - IT Operations Manager approval required - Maximum 30-day deferral (critical patches maximum 14 days) - Compensating controls implemented - Regular review of deferred maintenance

Compliance and Enforcement

  • Maintenance Tracking: All maintenance logged in central system
  • Compliance Metrics:
  • Patch deployment timeliness (target: >95% within SLA)
  • Scheduled maintenance completion rate (target: >98%)
  • System uptime during maintenance (target: >99.5% annual)
  • Maintenance documentation completeness (target: 100%)
  • Monthly Reviews: Review maintenance completion and patch status
  • Quarterly Audits: Audit maintenance compliance and effectiveness
  • Annual Assessment: Comprehensive review of maintenance program
  • Reporting: Monthly maintenance summary to IT leadership
  • Continuous Improvement: Regular updates to procedures based on lessons learned

References

  • NIST SP 800-40: Guide to Enterprise Patch Management Technologies
  • ITIL Service Operation - Maintenance Best Practices
  • ISO/IEC 20000: IT Service Management - Maintenance Processes
  • SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria: System Operations
  • HIPAA Security Rule - Maintenance Controls (164.308(a)(5))
  • Vendor-specific maintenance guidelines

Revision History

Version Date Author Changes
1.0 2025-11-08 IT Team Initial version migrated from Notion

Document Control - Classification: Internal - Distribution: IT team, operations team, system administrators - Storage: GitHub repository - policy-repository