US spy agency website back up after 'internal error' caused outage: Official

Actually the problem caused by schedule updates of Web services, network equipment or servers can be prevented or mitigated by
2 main approaches without much hiccups or problems :-

(1) Use Configuration Manager under the armbit of Configuration Management of IT Service Management (ITSM) under ITILv3.

Configuration Manager normally can keep the latest previous configuration (can be up to 10 previous configurations – that have been working in the production environment) copy of the configuration files of Web services, network equipment or servers.

When a new copy of the configuration files are used to update in the production environment in a schedule update and the Web services or systems fail to work properly, the Configuration
Manager can “roll-back” to the previous working copy – and thus will cause minimal impact to the users or public of the web services. The SLA can still be keep intact – as the disruption will be minimal.

Thus there is no way a scheduled update of new configuration files can disrupt the Web services.

(2) After developing a new copy of the configuration file – whether for Web services, network equipment or servers – it must be tested thoroughly in an environment (known as a “Staging zone”) – that is very closed to or a replica of the “Production zone”.

Upon roll out to the Staging zone and tested through actual web hit or web transaction and found to be working without hiccups or any problem, will scheduled update be provisioned by the Configuration Manager to the actual “Production zone”.

So it is highly unlike a scheduled update of new configuration files will bring down a live web site – if the above 2 approaches are adopted.

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