Agent Policy Maintenance Windows

The Maintenance Windows feature allows organizations to define specific time periods for performing planned maintenance activities, such as patching or configuration changes. The feature helps to avoid disruptions during critical times, reducing risk and maintaining stability in production environments.

You can define one or more Maintenance Windows (MWs) to control timing of the rolled out updates. When an update is available, the Agent checks if it is within the timespan of MW and updates it. If the updates do not fall within the time span of MW, it waits until the next MW.

To access the Agent Policy Maintenance Windows, navigate to Agents > Agent Policies > Create Policy > Maintenance windows tab.

To create a Maintenance window:

1. Click Create windows.
   
   The Agent Maintenance Windows pop-up window appears.

2. Enter a name for the maintenance window in the Name field.

3. Perform the following to set the schedule:

   • Start Date: The system selects the current date by default. To change it, type a new date or click the date list to pick one from the calendar.
   • Start Time: Select the time to begin the maintenance window.
   • End Time: Select the time to end the maintenance window.
   • Choose how often you want the maintenance task to run. By default, it is set to Does not repeat, meaning the task runs only once at the scheduled date and time. If you select Recurrence, the system runs the maintenance window on a repeating schedule for up to five years from the chosen Start Date.
     • Daily - Select the number of days between each run. The task runs on the Start date, then the next task runs after the specified number of days, at the time you set in the MW. For example, if you set the Start Date to July 1 and choose 3 days, the system runs the task on July 1, July 4, July 7, and so on, at the specified time.
     • Weekly - Select the number of weeks between each run and also select the day(s) of the week on which you want to run the maintenance window. For example, if you select 2 weeks and choose Wednesday, starting from July 3 (a Wednesday), the maintenance window runs on July 3, July 17, July 31, and so on—every other Wednesday at the scheduled time.
     • Monthly -
       • In the Repeat every field, select the number of months between each run. If Repeat every is set to 1 month, it runs monthly on that schedule.
       • On day – Choose the exact day of the month for the maintenance window. For example: If you select Day 10 and Repeat every 2 months, starting from July, the maintenance runs on July 10, September 10, November 10, and so on
       • On the – Choose a specific week and weekday, plus an optional offset in days. For example: If you select On the 2nd Tuesday, and set an offset of 1 day, the maintenance runs on the Wednesday following the 2nd Tuesday of each selected month.
       • When the Repeat every is set to 1 month, you can also use Skip months to exclude certain months from the schedule. For example: If you choose to skip December, the maintenance does not run in that month, even if it is part of the recurring pattern.
       • Yearly - In the Repeat every field, select the number of years between each run. If Repeat every is set to 1 year, the maintenance runs annually on the defined schedule.
       • On day – Choose the exact day and month for the maintenance window. For example: If you select Day 10 of July and Repeat every 1 year, the maintenance runs every year on July 10.
       • On the – Choose a specific week and weekday of a chosen month. For example: If you select On the 2nd Tuesday of August. The maintenance runs on the Wednesday following the 2nd Tuesday of August every year.
   • Advanced: You can set the Random delay of number of minutes. This adds a specified minutes of delay after the scheduled maintenance window starts. This may be useful in distributing the tasks or events to avoid simultaneous start.

4. Click Add.

After you add the maintenance window, you can edit or delete it. The maintenance window is saved only when you save the Policy.