This article describes how to build regular maintenance windows into a SURVEYOR power management scheme.
Introduction
In many cases, an environment that uses scheduled maintenance windows as part of its patch management processes is either always on or uses very minimal power management. As a benefit, systems are available 24x7 for software installs, patches, and updates. When power management is introduced to this environment, integration of patch management and power management becomes essential for a successful implementation of SURVEYOR.
To achieve this integration, Verdiem recommends either of two options:
- Regular maintenance windows built into a power management scheme
- Use of Verdiem Power Management Pack for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, an integration tool that can wake systems for scheduled updates
Option 1: Build regular maintenance windows into a power management scheme
SURVEYOR provides the option to schedule different power management settings on different days and times. You can take advantage of this functionality to build in maintenance windows that can be used for patch management.
There are two steps to building these maintenance windows into your power management profiles:
- Determine the days and times the systems need to be available for patch management.
- Based on the primary low power state you set, determine how to wake your systems.
If you use Standby or Sleep as your primary low power state (Verdiem recommended), you have two options to wake your systems:
- Option A: Configure the power scheme to initiate the wake request (this works with Standby only)
- Option B: Use SURVEYOR’s advanced Wake on LAN capability to wake the systems in advance of maintenance.
Verdiem recommends using a combination of options A and B. Implement the maintenance scheme by setting it to wake the computers.
Then, schedule a task that initiates a Wake on LAN request five minutes later. This approach maximizes the number of systems that will be available for patch management.
- Create the power scheme for your maintenance window.
In this scheme, you can set monitors to transition to a low power state, but set the CPU so that it never transitions.
- Create a night time scheme.
This scheme transitions the systems back to sleep after the maintenance window ends.
Verdiem recommends creating a scheme that transitions the CPU to System standby after 30 minutes of idle time. Schedule this scheme to take effect 30 minutes before the time you want the maintenance window to end.
Option 2: Use Verdiem Power Management Pack for Configuration Manager 2007
A second option is to use Verdiem Power Management Pack for Configuration Manager 2007 to wake systems that require patch updates.
The Verdiem Power Management Pack works with SURVEYOR and the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or SMS 2003. It uses Wake on LAN to wake computers that are scheduled to receive patches. This option removes the need for an established maintenance window and allows you to target the systems that require interaction.
The following steps explain the process for implementing the Power Management Pack.
- Determine the time when all advertisements are scheduled to start.
Because the Power Management Pack sends system wake requests on demand, Verdiem recommends setting a standard start time for all advertisements. This approach enables you to wake the system only once and apply all advertisements at the same time. (Applying advertisements over a period of time can result in waking a system multiple times in one night, which reduces the energy savings.)
- Determine the appropriate night scheme that will be in place when the client wakes.
When SURVEYOR server or Power Management Pack wakes a client, the client will follow the scheme that is in place at that time. Depending on the amount of time required for the update to download and start, the system potentially could go back to sleep before the process completes. Verdiem recommends using a policy that keeps the system awake for at least one hour of idle time before the system transitions to sleep. This provides enough time to deliver and install software packages, particularly when you are updating a large group of clients.