Use a scheduled maintenance window when planned work would otherwise generate expected alarms. Set an explicit end time and verify that monitoring notifications resume, so a temporary suppression does not hide a later outage.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Schedule and close the window
- Define the affected websites, servers, start time, time zone and expected duration. Include the person responsible for ending the work.
- Open each relevant monitor or server's Maintenance tab and select Add Maintenance Window.
- Enter the window details and verify the saved time. Check dependent monitors so the same planned outage does not generate a cascade of unrelated alarms.
- Carry out the work while retaining an independent way to inspect the service. Suppressing notifications does not prove the application is healthy.
- At completion, test customer-facing functions and check the next monitoring result. Remove or shorten the window if the work finishes early where appropriate.
- Confirm the window has ended and normal alert handling is restored. Record overruns and unresolved issues as incidents requiring an owner.
02 Example: pause the right checks for planned maintenance
For a planned application update, decide which monitor is expected to fail and which services should remain available. Pausing every monitor on an account can hide an unrelated outage while the maintenance is in progress.
- Record the planned work, responsible person and intended end time.
- Pause only the affected checks using the service's available controls.
- Keep a separate reminder to review the pause if the monitoring product does not automatically end it.
- Perform the work, test the customer-facing service and resume the relevant checks.
- Wait for a fresh monitoring result and confirm notifications reach the intended owner.
Does pausing monitoring stop visitors reaching the site?
No. Treat a pause as a change to observation, not a website maintenance switch. Your application, web server and DNS continue to determine what customers see.
Document any remaining fault before closing the maintenance task. If a monitor is still failing after you resume it, compare its configured URL, expected content and location with your own test. Contact us with those details when the failure appears to involve our hosting service. A paused monitor should never become the permanent solution to recurring alerts.
Common questions
Is a maintenance window the same as deleting the monitor?
No. A window is intended for temporary planned suppression. Deleting a monitor can remove a useful configuration and continuity of evidence.
Should I pause monitoring indefinitely for a noisy site?
Investigate the reason for the noise. If a temporary pause is necessary, assign a review time and owner; otherwise a genuinely broken service can remain unnoticed.
Does the window automatically notify customers?
Do not assume it publishes a customer message. Follow the approved service-communication process separately, with the expected impact and update time.